Advent Children
by PrincessKillJoy
Summary: Julianna Dashara knew she was in deep when she woke up in a strange mansion with no memory of why she is or how she got there. What she didn't count on was being trapped in said mansion by a man whose intentions for her are far from good... *AU To A Certain Point* M for violence, cursing, and sexual content
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer-** I don't own any characters or even Resident Evil itself. All characters that you don't recognize belong to me. Please do not use them without my permission.

 **A/N-** What better what to start off a story than with a suspenseful chapter?

* * *

 _Whoever knew someone like her would exist?_

 _I honestly thought everyone else was pulling my leg when they said they found one. I thought these things were supposed to have died out two hundred years ago?_

 _I'm more interested in the fact that they even had cryogenic chambers two hundred years ago._

 _Whatever the case, we have her now. All we have to do now is wait for her to wake up and complete the little obstacle course set up for her…_

Voices.

Those were the first things that greeted her as she floated deep in a dreamless sleep that she'd been trapped in for longer than she could remember. She clung to those echoing sounds, using them as a beacon of sorts to pull herself from such a world. It was almost like swimming up from the depths of the ocean with something heavy weighing you down. With all her might she fought the heavy exhaustion until at last her eyes edged open. As expected, her vision was dull and cloudy, everything appearing as though in a fog. She opened and closed them several times, trying to clear her vision so that she could observe her surroundings.

The first thing she noticed was that she was laying on something comfortable and soft, more than likely a bed. Her hands moved a bit, feeling the intricate designs of the comforter underneath her. She chanced to move her head though everything was still foggy. How long had she been asleep?

As her head rolled to the right, she noticed something strange about her arm. Raising her head slowly as a confused sound wormed its way from her scratchy throat, she realized it to be a cannula connected to a tube which contained a crimson fluid. Her eyes followed the plastic tubing upwards until it ended with a bag hanging from a metal hook attached to the wall just about the headboard of what she knew know to be a bed. _Blood,_ her mind whispered. It didn't strike her as odd that this contraption was stuck in her vein. For what reason, she didn't know right off the bat. Had she, perhaps, had this done several times in the past?

Her gaze turned from the blood bag to the canopy above her, noting that it was a beautiful shade of midnight blue. _My favorite color_. She turned her head to the left now, taking in the surroundings there as well. At the bedside, there was a nightstand with a lamp atop it. A quick glance to the right confirmed that there was a similar there as well. Taking a risk, she slowly eased herself up and off of the bed, careful not to jar her right arm overmuch. Wherever she was, it was a rather large and elaborate bedroom, obviously meant for a woman. There were white curtains which were open to reveal the storm raging outside the high window. Every once in a while, lightning would flash casting shadows across the large rug in the center of the room. Directly across from the bed were an armoire and a wooden door she assumed led to a bathroom.

To the right was a vanity with a large mirror as well as a strange box sitting upon it. Not far from that was a massive door that was slightly ajar, allowing a dim light from the outside to cast a long sliver which ended at the bed. Slowly, very slowly as to avoid getting up too fast, the young woman swung her legs over the side of the bed. A quick glance back up to the blood bag proved that it was completely empty and that there was no further need to be attached to it. Noticing a cotton ball and gauze wrap that she hadn't seen before sitting conveniently on the night stand, she carefully removed the cannula from her arm before applying both to the tiny wound. Once that was done, she stood up sluggishly, her legs wobbling slightly. _I must have had a really good sleep._ Indeed, she must have. She couldn't recall a time when she slept so deeply and soundly.

Focusing her attention back to the vanity, she gradually walked towards it, curious about the box she'd noticed earlier. It should have taken a few steps to get there, but when her head starting swimming, she realized that it wasn't going to be as easy as she thought. Fighting through the dizziness, she made it to the vanity, grabbing hold of it to steady herself. Closing her eyes for a few minutes and then opening them, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror for the first time in what felt like forever.

In all truths, she didn't think she looked that bad; her face was pale, too pale to some. Her features were delicate, almost aristocratic with a tiny nose and full dusky pink lips. Long mahogany red hair which was pulled halfway back fell over her small shoulders, reaching just beneath her ribcage. Her clothing which hugged her lithe but strong frame was a simple blue shirt with a short black jacket, black pants, and black boots. Most enchanting of all, however, was not her appearance, but rather her almond shaped eyes which were as crimson as blood.

 _At least, I don't look as bad as I feel,_ she thought, turning her attention down to the box before her. Small hands with shell pink nails ran over the top, noting it to be made of wood with a top that simply rose up from the base. Doing so, she gasped as she saw the contents inside. There, lying amongst black velvet, were two handguns, twenty-two calibers by the looks of them. Running her fingertips along them revealed that there were words etched into the metal; one read _Ying_ and the other _Yang_. A small smile graced her lips as her foggy memory cleared long enough for her to realize that these guns were her own.

'Hello angels," she began. 'I've missed you." Looking down at her beltline, she noticed two gun holsters empty and ready to accept her twin pistols. Placing both guns on either side, she looked back in the box to see a folded piece of paper sticking out from where the firearms had been. Plucking it out and opening it, she realized it to be a note addressed to seemingly to her.

 _Miss Dashara,_

 _I apologize for the manner which we speak for the first time, but I feel this is most appropriate for the time being. As you no doubt have realized, you have been given a blood transfusion to cure you of your anemia for the time being. However, you will be required to have monthly transfusions from this point on until your full strength has returned._

She stopped for a moment, blinking several times. Anemia? Since when had she had anemia? She kept reading.

 _Before such a time, however, I'm sure you have many questions such as where you are and how you came here._ ( _Indeed,_ she thought) _In order to receive the answers to such questions, I fear that you must first fight your way to me._

 _Once you exit your door, you will be faced with the challenge of destroying the creatures which will try to, regrettably, kill you. Should rumor prove true, they should be no challenge to someone with your talents and skills._

 _Should you succeed, you will have the answers you seek. Fail, and it will have been a pity to have lost you. I wish you all the best._

 _Sincerely,_

 _OS_

She read and re-read the letter over and over again. Slowly, her eyes wandered up until she was gazing at her reflection. She didn't outright admit, but a sinking feeling in her stomach was very quickly threatening to overwhelm her. Her gaze turned to the door which was slightly ajar. What manner of _creatures_ was this man (she assumed the author of said letter was male anyways) referring to? And why was she being expected to fight them to, what she didn't want to think but had a feeling was, the death?

She was snapped out of her thoughts, however, by the sounds of something groaning just outside the door as well as feet being drug on a stone surface. Instinctively, she grabbed her guns and pointed them at the door, her breath quickening in anticipation of what was coming her way. Slowly, very slowly, the door creaked open and the owner of the dragging sounds came into view. Her eyes opened wide in shock as she stared at what stood before her.

What was once a human man was now a creature with pallid skin and milky eyes. Some parts of his flesh were falling off and his tattered clothing was barely hanging on to him. A groan came from his parted mouth, his hands reaching out once he caught sight of her, deliberately heading her way.

'Stop right there!" She called out in a threatening voice. 'Not a step closer!" The creature paid her no heed, only continued at a snail's pace towards her. 'I said stop!" She cocked her guns, hoping that would be enough to deter the monster. When that had no effect, she open fired. Two rounds hit the creature's shoulders, another scored a direct hit in his chest, but still it kept coming closer. Without thinking about it, she fired another round, this time hitting his head. Once the bullet exited its cranium, the monster stopped in its tracks and fell to the floor, blood pooling out from the wounds. Her breath tore in and out of her lungs as she lowered her arms and backed away from the creature.

'What the hell is going on?" she said, trying to get her breathing and shuddering under control. Keen ears picked up the sounds of more approaching creatures. Whatever this thing was, more of the same were no doubt coming. Realizing that she was a sitting duck inside the room, she opted to heed the advice of the letter and fight her way to wherever the author was waiting for her. Steeling herself, she walked with a purpose to the now completely open door. _You can do this,_ her mind encouraged her. _You'll be alright as long as you watch your ass like a hawk._ Adrenaline kicked in as she took a deep breath and passed over the threshold, checking the right side of the massive hallway first, and then turning to the left when she saw nothing.

On this side, however, there was a multitude of decomposing men and women, all of them heading towards her. _The head,_ she reminded herself. _Take out the head. It's the only way to stop them._ Raising her guns once more, she said a quick prayer to whoever was watching over her to keep her safe before breaking into a run.

The creatures which were closest to her were taken out with a bullet to the head. Those were the ones that went down without a fight. Others which had a red pigment to their skin instead ran towards her, forcing the red-haired woman to dodge them as best as she could. Jumping over the fallen bodies and shooting everything that moved, it didn't take her very long to get to the end of the hall where it divided off into two different directions, both of which were infested with more of the undead.

Opting for the right, she continued on her way without much a problem. A smile came to her face despite the situation; she was going to make it after all! Right as she said that, however, she became aware that she was being watched from behind. Turning around quickly, she narrowly avoided a massive green creature with equally large, but incredibly sharp looking claws.

'What the hell?" She cried as said creature turned around and shrieked viciously at her, exposing its razor sharp teeth. Appearance wise, it reminded her of a crocodile with scaly skin and reptilian yellow eyes. _Whatever the hell it is, it's obviously not friendly._ Firing a few rounds at it, however, clued her in that this was not going to be as easy a kill as the creatures before. Not to be deterred, the red eyed girl continued firing her guns at the creature, making sure to keep adequate distance between her and it. When every round seemed to make it angrier, the young woman quickly backpedaled until she was running from it.

 _It's not worth wasting your ammo on,_ she thought as she ran, not caring where she was going as long as that thing got away from her. But with every bit of speed she possessed, the creature was able to match it almost perfectly, getting closer and closer with every step that she took. After a while, however, it felt like she was just running in circles, not even sure where she was running anymore. Strangely enough, the creature had gone eerily silent…

The woman stopped and turned to see where it had gone, not realizing her mistake until it was too late to do anything. Without warning, the creature pounced upon her, the force of which knocking her onto her back hard. Julianna cried out in pain, quickly bringing up an arm to keep the creature's deadly jaws as far from her as possible. Looking for her guns, her red eyes noticed that they had been knocked too far from her hands. The terrifying shrieks from the reptilian monster on top of her threatened to burst her eardrums, those sharp teeth getting closer and closer…

Gunshots suddenly rang out, and the monster suddenly went deathly quiet and still as it rolled off and to the side of her. The smell of its blood in the air threatened to make her gag as she staggered to her feet, looking around to find out where the shots had been fired from. Seeing no one, much less any evidence that someone had been there, she stooped down to pick up her guns before holstering them and leaning up against the wall, breathing hard. Really, this was all too much; first she woke up in a place she didn't recognize with a cannula in her arm, found a box with her guns and a letter which told her she had anemia among other things, and then fought her way through what she assumed to be zombies while almost getting herself killed by some crocodile on two legs. How could things get any worse?

'What the fuck is going on?" she cursed under her breath, leaning back her head and closing her eyes for several minutes to stop her racing heart. Once she'd felt she had calmed down significantly, she opened her eyes and reassessed her new surroundings. Apparently she'd found herself in yet another hall, but this time with two double doors right in front of her. Where they led, she didn't know, but she didn't appear to have another choice besides going through as there were no other doors in the near vicinity. Deciding to take her chances, she pushed off the wall and walked cautiously towards them.

Just as she reached her hand to open the door, she stopped short. Strange… were those voices on the other side? She furrowed her brow and pressed her ear a little closer to the door. Sure enough, without much effort, she was able to hear two male voices on the other side. By the sounds of it, one was old, late sixties to early seventies. The second was more than likely late thirties or early forties. She wasn't sure what they were going on about since she missed the first part of the conversation, but nonetheless, she was able to hear what she believed was the conclusion of such.

'…impressive skills for a woman, though I'd expect nothing less from someone of her lineage."

'You're absolutely sure she has it?"

'More than positive. Creatures of her type are special; they carry both the strain which causes immortality and the strain that will kill in a matter of moments. It's just a matter of extracting the latter."

'…I see."

She took a step back after that. Creature of her type? Strains that kill and others that cause longevity? Extraction? Just what was all this about? She returned to her previous position by the door.

'It's just a matter of time now before she reaches us. Then we will see just how much she remembers."

'And if she doesn't?"

'There are more ways than one to jump start a person's memory. Two hundred years in a cryogenic sleep are more than enough time to wipe a memory."

'Why is it that I get the sense that this will take more work than it should?"

'We will have what we need in good time. All in good time."

Things got quiet after that, alerting the mahogany haired girl that the conversation indeed had finished. Her hand went out to the door knob again before stopping short. She didn't know why, but there was a sinking feeling in her gut that this wasn't a good idea. Every fiber of her being was telling her to turn around and leave this place. _And go where? You don't even know where you are, much less where you can go!_ That was a very good point. She inhaled and then exhaled through her nose, completely at a loss at what she should do.

After a few more moments of hesitation, she steeled herself and took hold of both door knobs. _Nothing ventured, nothing gained._ Without wasting another moment, she turned the handles at the same time and pushed them open, walking over the threshold against her better judgment. Her breath was taken away at the sight of thousands upon thousands of books contained in glass cases all along the circular room, cases which ended at the big windows directly across from where she was standing. She had never seen a collection of books this big, not in her life. The curious nature which thirsted for knowledge that she possessed was suddenly itching to read, even if it was just one line. To touch one of them would pleasurable, but to have access to them would be absolute heaven! So engrossed in the sights around her that she never noticed the two figures who were watching her take in her surroundings until one of them spoke:

'Hello, Julianna Dashara. We've been expecting you."


	2. Chapter 2

Julianna froze the second she heard her name uttered by one of the two men who stood before her, not even hearing the doors as they closed behind her. Red eyes darted from one to the other, not sure what to do for the longest moment as she observed them as they observed her. As she had suspected, the men were the ages she estimated them to be:

The oldest was a man who was sitting in a rather strange chair that she'd never seen before. Dressed in a black suit with a white shirt, the only thing off about his appearance were the wires connecting him to the chair which was making faint beeping sounds. _His heart rate_ , she guessed. His white hair and wrinkled face also hinted that he was nearing the end of his years in this life, especially if he was connected to that chair of his.

The second, however, was who drew the most attention from her. He was tall, much taller than she was, and dressed all in black- black shirt, pants, boots, and a black trench coat. His sharp facial features were drawn into an unreadable mask, and his eyes concealed behind sunglasses as black as his attire. The only contrasting color on him was his blonde hair which had been slicked back so well that not a strand was out of place.

'I suppose congratulations are in order. I didn't doubt for a moment you would not make it to me, unscathed." the old man began, drawing her attention to him. 'Though I was momentarily worried when you had difficulties dealing with the Hunter, you still managed to survive. Commendable, especially for a young girl such as you." When Julianna's eyes narrowed, he continued. 'You must be wondering how I know you or how you came to be in this place. It's only natural, seeing as your memory is no doubt fragmented from your long sleep." Julianna said nothing in return, only took a couple steps backward. She didn't know why, but her senses were on edge. Something was not right here, and- after glancing at the man in black- she had a feeling the man standing beside the elder had something to do with it. Her movements did not go unnoticed.

'There's no need to go back outside, dear girl unless you're in the mood for more of a challenge," the old man chuckled at this, coughing as he did so. 'It would be a shame, however, if you were to perish so soon. There is much still that I'd like to discuss with you." Julianna cast him a suspicious look, crossing her arms over her chest. 'The silent type, are we? A shame, surely someone as beautiful as you has an equally lovely voice."

'…Who are you, old one?" Julianna finally brought herself to ask. 'What is the meaning of all this?" At hearing her voice, the elder before her leaned his head back in his chair. Only the blonde man beside him remained motionless. Even from behind his sunglasses, Julianna could feel his gaze boring holes in her. To say that she wasn't alright with that was more than just an understatement.

'Straight to the point, I respect that." The man brought his hands up until his fingertips met. '"Where am I?" "Who are you?" "What do you want with me?" Those are the usual questions, ones to be expected at that. I did promise you answers, after all, and so answers you shall receive.

'You are standing in the halls of my mansion, one which has been inhabited by several generations of my family. It is elaborate, far more so than others. Anywhere you go in this place, you will find a multitude of artworks from around the world and various time periods, perhaps even some that you would recognize. As for who I am, I am but a mere old man who looks to postpone the inevitable; my death. I am Oswell Spencer, and I welcome you, transient guest." Julianna wasn't sure what to say to that. _Transient guest? I'm not that old,_ she thought. Julianna blinked at that thought; how old even was she anymore? More importantly, what year even was it? Usually, she had no problem remembering both simple and important things but now…

'How much do you remember prior to waking up, Miss Dashara?" Spencer asked her, efficiently tearing her from her thoughts. 'There must be some fogginess, I'm sure. That's to be expected, especially since you've been sleeping for two hundred years." Julianna's eyes widened in surprise, her jaw dropping slightly; she'd heard him wrong, she had to have. She couldn't have been asleep for that long! As she tried to wrap her mind around this, bits of the conversation she'd heard before entering the room echoing throughout it; _Two hundred years in a cryogenic sleep are more than enough time to wipe a memory…_

'…sleeping for two hundred years," she muttered under her breath. Julianna supposed she had to agree with his point. It was no wonder she had no idea what the year was or even where she came from. But if she had been in a cryogenic sleep, then where exactly did they find-

'It took quite a long time for us to unearth you," Oswell continued conversationally. 'You were buried under quite a bit of rubble, after all. It seemed unlikely that anyone would have survived, but despite the odds, you were good and well. To someone like your mother, you must have been a nuisance. But to someone such as me, you are a miracle; a being who was said to have been long extinct that has now risen from the ashes like a phoenix from a flame." At these words, the man beside Spencer visibly stiffened but said nothing still. It was obvious to her that he didn't want to be here, much less engaging in any type of conversation. Julianna was beginning to wonder if there was something she was missing here.

'There's no such thing as miracles," Julianna couldn't help but say. 'It's only an illusion for those stupid enough to believe in them." That, at least, drew some expression from the tall man; he smirked. Not enough so that it was noticeable, but enough for her to see it for the brief second that it was there. His face fell back into that unreadable mask moments later after he noticed her staring at him. For a time, she was a bit taken aback; Julianna was more than certain that she'd seen a flash of red behind those impossibly concealing glasses he wore. Strange… and here Julianna was thinking _she_ was the only person who had carmine eyes. Surely it was just her imagination. It was impossible for a human to have eyes such as she… wasn't it?

'It's just a matter of perspective," Spencer replied with the same tone she had taken. 'Nonetheless, you are a rarity in this time. Never had I thought to come across a being like you, and once again, I am surprised."

'What do you mean "being like me"? What is it that you are implying?" Oswell simply laughed at this, something which felt like a smack in the face to Julianna.

'Well this is a surprise; not only do you not know how old you are, but you don't even know your own blood." He chuckled again. Julianna's eye twitched in annoyance; she didn't see what was so funny about any of this. How would he feel if he was in her position? _The arrogance of men, as always._ 'I would have expected you to at least know _that_." The manner in which he said those last words reminded Julianna vaguely of someone who used to speak to her like that when she did something wrong… dammit, why was her memory so foggy?

She wasn't sure when it happened or who was responsible, but everything was pushed to the wayside when Julianna heard a gun go off. All at once Julianna felt a searing pain go through her right shoulder, sending her to one knee as she clutched it with her left hand, blood spilling out and staining her black jacket. She remained like that for several minutes before, miraculously (and she used that word _very_ lightly), Julianna felt something being pushed out of her shoulder. At the feeling of something small and metal pressing against her hand, Julianna drew it away one for a single used bullet to fall into it. Her free hand rose to touch the place where it had entered her flesh only to find no trace that she'd ever been shot. But that was impossible, wasn't it?

'How in the world…?"

'Do you see now, Julianna?" Oswell asked her. 'You are no ordinary human. In fact, you're not human at all, though your outward appearance would say otherwise. You are part of an extinct race, one which was birthed by a virus known as Sanguineous Vampirosa… better known to humans now as Eclipse." When Julianna didn't move, he continued. 'Eclipse was a virus which was contracted only through blood, true to its name, and killed off any and all red blood cells it came into contact with. Once infected, a person would either die from the agony of their blood boiling in their veins or become a Sang. Indeed, they are no different from the creatures you fought this night, only instead of the flesh of others, Sangs craved the blood of the living to replace the blood cells they constantly lost."

'In other words, they were vampires." Julianna whispered.

'In a sense, yes, but they were able to mask their presence well enough to strike when someone least expected them to." She finally raised her head when he said these words. 'But little did anyone realize was that Eclipse originated another race, one which was nothing like the murderous Sangs. Instead, Eclipse gave them the powers of a superhuman; strength, speed, agility, intelligence, all at the expense of losing their own humanity and with it, their mortality."

'And you think I'm one of them?" Julianna said sardonically.

'No, I know for a fact you aren't one of them. You are much more special than those called Advents."

'Then what is it that you think I am?"

'You, like many before you, are part of two worlds. You were born of a union between an Advent mother and a Sang father, or vice versa, that much I do not know. What I _do_ know is, despite your mixed heritage, you are a gift from God himself. You are the last of your kind; an Advent Sang hybrid."

Julianna's expression fell. She didn't say anything for a long, long time.

 _An Advent Sang hybrid…_ How was this possible? There were no such things!

 _Then how do you explain your body rejecting a bullet and then healing itself?_

Julianna very slowly stood up, glancing again at the empty chamber in her hand before tossing it to the side. The sounds of metal bouncing off of stone were much louder and clearer in her ears than it should have been, but that was not important at the moment. Her red eyes followed the stone flooring up from the elaborate rug in the center all the way up to the man in the chair.

'Now that you know what you are and why you are so unique, I can now address the matter at hand," Oswell said casually. Julianna almost didn't want to know what it was but didn't outright say so. 'Since it's clear to me that Eclipse is more than capable of giving eternal life, you have something that I and my compatriots need." Julianna's blood went cold. 'You are the answer that I have been searching for. You carry within you the Eclipse virus, the Fountain of Youth. Where all other attempts have failed, with your blood and Eclipse, we will finally have the means to create a new race and a new world."

Julianna stared at him for a long, long moment. She didn't know whether to laugh at the old man's delusions or to turn and leave in disgust. It was clear to her that he had more than a few screws loose. _I'm a Fountain of Youth? Right and I am also an angel sent to save everything from certain death._ She didn't condemn his wants to avoid death, for she was certain that in his position, anyone would be desperate to stave it off. But to go to such lengths…

'I assure you, we've no intentions of bringing undue harm upon you," Oswell spoke, ignoring the look on Julianna's face. 'All we ask is that you provide a sample of your blood and aid us in developing a better understanding of Eclipse and the different strains of it. Once we have what we need, I give you my word that you will be free to go." Julianna's brow furrowed suddenly.

'Are you saying you intend to hold me here against my will?" The expression on Oswell's face provided the answer to her question. That was all she needed to decide what to do next; her right hand, which had been inching upwards to her right pistol, suddenly grabbed it and pulled it out, aiming it directly at the old man who didn't so much as flinch.

'Resorting to violence are we?" He articulated in amusement. 'Aren't you a spirited one?"

'Provided you were standing in my place, I've no doubts you'd do much the same," Julianna spat, red eyes flaring. 'You may have done me a service by bringing me out of this cryogenic sleep and giving me a blood transfusion, but if you think for a second that I will allow you to use me as your personal guinea pig, you are _deeply_ mistaken."

No words passed from her or Oswell for a long tense moment. He and the tall man beside him shared a brief look, during which Oswell nodded in approval to some unspoken order. The blonde man glanced back to her and began walking with a purpose towards Julianna. Aiming her gun at him, she fired off a round only as a warning for him to back off. The man was in one place, then another, faster than her eyes could track. Taken aback for a brief second, she pulled the trigger and shot three more rounds, each of which was avoided by those lightning quick movements, movements which were so fast that only an after image of where he once was remained.

Losing track of his movements, Julianna was completely unprepared when he suddenly appeared right in front of her, making a move to grab her throat. Julianna retaliated by avoiding his grab and instead swinging a fist at his face only for that to be avoided with the same speed with which he avoided her bullets. Refusing to back down, Julianna continued to strike out at him first with her fists, then resorting to using her powerful legs to kick him back and away from her.

The blonde man retaliated by grabbing her by her arm and throwing her off to the right, her back colliding with one of the bookcases, the glass cracking from the force. Where any normal person would have taken a few minutes to come back from such a collision, Julianna jumped right back up to her feet to avoid his fast approach. Leaping up and over his head, she fired both guns, this time releasing multiple rounds which should have been impossible for him to avoid.

Rolling once she hit the ground and spinning around to face him, she was surprised when he responded to her gun assault by producing a firearm of his own and sending a few bullets her way. How exactly she did this, she'll never know, but her sharp eyes saw the bullets as they came her way, giving her an opportunity to roll out of the way and return fire.

Back and forth they went, bullets flying everywhere but never scoring a hit on their respective targets. It was only when one grazed her shoulder that Julianna switched tactics and holstered her weapons to instead launch herself at the man when he rushed towards her. She was able to force him back all but two feet before he easily stopped his movements. A strong elbow connected to her back, knocking the wind from her momentarily before she was once again tossed to the side.

As before, Julianna got right back up, refusing to give up. Both she and the blonde man stopped a few feet away from one another, neither so much as breathing heavily despite their vigorous fighting. Despite the situation, Julianna couldn't help but be impressed with his abilities. Even though she had to give him due credit, he was still with that old man in this, and she was not about to be a prisoner in an unknown place.

Throwing everything else to the wind, they simultaneous charged at each other, Julianna gaining the upper hand this time when she managed to land a kick to the center of his chest, the force of which drove the man back. Recovering quickly, he returned her kick with an equally- if not more- powerful kick of his own which knocked Julianna clear off her feet. This time, she collided with one of the stone pillars in the room, cracking her head on it.

Stunned, Julianna quickly got away from it and shook her head to clear the brief moment of dizziness. Hearing the fast approaching footsteps, she instinctively grabbed a gun and fired a round without looking in the man's direction. This time, she heard a surprised grunt come from him, making her turn in his direction. Judging by the rapidly growing blood stain on his shoulder, indeed, the same one which she had been shot, that was where the bullet had gone.

And so she was more than surprised when he merely shook it off. Backhanding her so hard that blood shot out of her mouth, he took her off guard by grabbing her from behind, effectively pinning Julianna's arms to her sides. Struggling desperately, Julianna did everything she could to fight the hold. His hold on her tightened so hard that it was almost difficult for her to breath.

All struggles were halted, however, when the cold barrel of a gun was pressed to her left temple.

'I'm afraid, Miss Dashara, that leaving is not an option for you. You will either aid us…"

'In your dreams, I will," Julianna hissed despite having a gun to her temple. The hold which the blonde man held her tightened when she moved slightly.

'Or, you will die. I would rather see you conduct yourself like a lady and do as we ask, but if you continue with this nonsense of yours, I'll have no choice but to have you destroyed. You may indeed be strong and able, but not even a hybrid like you can come back from a bullet to the brain." Oswell continued, ignoring her statement. Her red eyes bore holes in the elder. Anger was raging through her veins, and the fact that she was being held against her will was only adding fuel to the fire. She chewed on her lower lip furiously as she considered her predicament:

On one hand, she could say damn the consequences and fight with everything in her. Were it not for the fact that her captor was holding a gun to her head, she did not immediately do so. Had he been unarmed, however, Julianna could have found a way to slip away and would resume whipping his ass all over the place (or, at least, trying to.). But on the other hand, she could bide her time to escape under the pretense of going along with what they say. Even then she still ran the risk of being filled full of lead, but at least, she would have a sporting chance. The idea of surrendering was unappealing to her, and not because it would damage her pride.

 _It's not surrendering if you are able to get away,_ her mind offered. That was true; she wasn't giving in completely, only playing them as they appeared to be playing her. It would just be pretending, that's all, pretending to be the perfect puppet… at least, until she managed to get out. Nothing more, nothing less.

'I'll agree to stay only on one condition," Julianna finally said, never blinking or looking away from Oswell, who seemed surprised that she would even say such a thing.

'Which is?"

'If I give you what you want and do as you ask, you must give me your word that you will let me leave this place without any resistance on your part. Do so, and I will aid you." Her face grew, if possible, more serious for her next words. 'But if you conduct yourself in a manner which I find threatening, then you can be assured that I will fight you every step of the way, regardless of the cost." Spencer said nothing to her in return, only watched her carefully. What he was expecting to see, Julianna didn't know, but what he witnessed was her steely resolve.

'Very well," he replied. 'I give you my word that once all is said and done, you will be free to go when and where you wish. Until such a time, you will remain here and conduct yourself in a pleasant manner." He leaned forward in his chair. 'Now that you have confirmation of your terms, you must make your choice- life or death?"

Julianna knew that his agreement was a farce, it had to be. He said those words too easily and too calmly. But what other choice did she have in the manner? Her crimson gaze glanced up at the blonde man, more than surprised when she saw equally red eyes glancing down at her in return. Each glared at each other for a long, long moment before she looked back to Spencer. The sounds of the gun pressed to her temple being cocked filled her left ear.

That was all she needed to make her decision.

'Fine then," she grumbled, casting her eyes downwards. 'I'll do it." She refused to look up, hating herself for having landed herself in this situation, even if it wasn't really her own fault.

'A wise decision," Spencer said with a smile which was in no way, shape, or form a good one. 'You will not regret it, I assure you."

 _Yeah right,_ she thought as she was roughly released by the blonde man who put away his firearm. Julianna glanced at him as his footsteps retreated from her, still not quite sure exactly what he was. One thing was for certain- he gave her a damn good fight.

* * *

 **A/N** \- An interesting side note: three of the four beta readers for this story agreed that Julianna had this fight won. But we all know that it's just not in Wesker's nature to lose to a woman.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** \- Please review and let me know what you think so far, be it good or bad criticism. I welcome them all! ^^

* * *

'Now then," Oswell continued, pressing a button which caused his chair to roll towards her. 'Since we've come to an agreement, I'm afraid that it is time for this old man to retire. You should do the same; we all start the day here rather early, after all. Though sleeping for two hundred years may be enough to last you for quite some time." Julianna didn't even bother to reply, still chewing at her lip in frustration. She only moved when the blonde man physically turned her around to face the door before pushing her towards it. Julianna's deadly gaze locked with his once more. The old man saw the two glaring at each, nearly on the verge of starting a fight all over again until he made it a point to put himself between the two.

'There's no need to spill any more blood," he said in a way which sounded like a disapproving father. Both Julianna and the blonde man turned their attention to him, and she was more than certain she saw a shadow of apprehension cross Oswell's face. 'After all, you'll be working in close proximity of one another and I expect that you both conduct yourselves in a civil manner." Julianna regarded the timeworn male between them with visible aversion as he rolled himself towards the doors, then locked eyes with his compatriot one last time before turning her head away and following him, making sure to keep an eye on the red eyed man as he walked ahead of them to open the double doors.

'As you've no doubt seen, the mansion is very spacious," Oswell began, passing over the threshold. Julianna followed him, locking eyes with the tallest of the three as she went by. 'You are free to frequent rooms which open to your hand. All I ask is that you do not attempt to venture into areas that are locked or beyond the gated regions." _You talk as though I'm living here permanently,_ Julianna wanted to say but wisely kept her mouth shut.

He continued to ramble on about the history of his house, but Julianna drowned him out by observing the artwork and sculptures that decorated the halls, having never noticed them on her first trip through her. Some were of people she assumed to be relatives of Oswell, others were landscapes and still life paintings. There were only two sculptures- one a bust of a woman, the other an eagle- that she found interesting enough to warrant a closer look at a later time. She also noticed that the corpses of the creatures she killed had been removed with no traces that they were ever there.

Occasionally, she would catch the blonde haired man staring at her from the corner of her eye, but whenever she would turn her head in his direction, he would avert his crimson gaze elsewhere when their eyes met. She didn't really care. He was just another obstacle standing in her way of getting out of here.

Once they reached what she assumed was the door to Oswell's room, he stopped and turned his head towards her with one of those smiles that did not hide his smugness at having forced her into staying.

'You will find everything that you could need in the room where you awoke, Miss Dashara," he informed her. 'But should you need anything, do not hesitate to ask." He turned his head now to the blonde man, and then back to her. 'As you're yet unfamiliar with the manor, I'll have Wesker see you to your room, _without_ further violence, I hope." Julianna barely contained a snort at this. As if she wanted him to. No doubt he was sending this Wesker man with her to ensure she didn't attempt anything which would warrant a quick end to her life. 'If there is nothing more you'd like to say, I bid you goodnight. I look forward to seeing you in the morning." With those final words, Oswell opened the door and disappeared within it, leaving Julianna alone with Wesker.

Red met black sunglasses for a tense moment before he turned and proceeded down the hall, wordlessly ordering her to follow, which Julianna reluctantly did. An awkward silence fell upon the two, the only sounds being their footsteps.

'I don't think I need to tell you that you are walking on very thin ice," Wesker said suddenly, taking Julianna off guard. 'If it were up to me, you would have been killed for your insolence." She cast him a sideways glance.

'If I recall, _you_ were the one that started the whole thing," she pointed out. 'I did give you ample warning to-"

'And _I_ gave _you_ ample warning that I have no problem disposing of you should you prove to be more trouble than you're worth." He interrupted. Curiosity had her.

'It's clear that you aren't thrilled with my being alive and well. Which leads me to ask… why _didn't_ you kill me when you had the chance?" Wesker stopped suddenly, a strong hand grabbing her by the arm and turning her to face him.

'What makes you think that I still won't?" He growled, his crimson gaze nearly glowing from behind his sunglasses. Julianna wasn't the least bit intimidated.

'I never said that you wouldn't," she explained. 'It just seems rather odd that you would say you want to kill me and yet when the opportunity presented itself, you didn't. I'm merely curious as to why you chose not to." Wesker said nothing, only glared at her. After a tense moment, he resumed walking, practically dragging Julianna along with him before releasing her roughly.

'You're of no use if you're dead, so I'll let that slide _this_ time," he grumbled, the set of his jaw betraying just how pissed off he was at her bluntness. 'The next time you question me, I'll make sure it's the _last_ time you question anyone. Have I made myself abundantly clear?" Julianna glanced over to see he was giving her a cold glare, to which she responded with indifference.

'Seeing as I have no other choice, yes, you have." Julianna replied, glancing away to instead observe the paintings on her side of the wall. They continued along their way in a tense silence, not so much as looking at each other until the hall became one that she recognized again. As with the rest of the halls, this one was clear of the carcasses of her earlier kills, making Julianna wonder just when they were removed in the first place as the only people she'd seen so far were Wesker and Oswell. Then she remembered the voices which had brought her out of her deep slumber. _Just how many people are here?_ She wondered. _Are they trapped here like I am?_ It wouldn't surprise her if there was. Oswell didn't come across as someone who frequently had guests, after all. Whatever the case, she didn't want to even dream of asking the man standing beside her. She hadn't forgotten the fact that he had managed to overpower her, rendering her helpless. It would be quite some time until her wounded pride was healed.

Stopping outside one of three doors in the hall, Wesker silently opened it. Taking that as her chance to get away from him, she started through it before an impossibly strong hand grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back against him. Hot breath fanned over her ear as he leaned his head down beside it.

'Don't forget what I said," he whispered threateningly. 'One wrong move and I will personally make sure that you are never seen nor heard from _again_." Julianna didn't even give him the satisfaction of seeing any type of reaction. While he had a hold on her, however, she never noticed his free hand sneaking around towards her belt until she heard the buckle come loose and the belt- along with her guns- being pulled away from her. Julianna tried to turn and grab it back, but the hand which held her didn't allow such a thing to happen. 'Just in case you get any ideas," he added. 'I'll be taking these. Whether or not you get them back is completely dependent on your behavior." With that, Wesker practically threw her through the open door before slamming it shut behind her. The sounds of a tumbler falling into place alerted Julianna that he'd also locked it. _Bastard_ , she thought as she heard his footsteps walking away until they faded into silence.

Great, she wasn't just trapped in a mansion with a psycho old man, but she also had to contend with a blonde haired prick who just took her guns.

It couldn't get any better.

Not to be deterred, Julianna took the opportunity to search the room more thoroughly, checking for anything that she could use. She didn't put it past them to have removed anything to be used as a weapon, but the pain which was still lingering in some places reminded her just how futile her firearms had proved against someone like Wesker. Still, she had to be sure that there was something they had overlooked. Julianna decided to start with the armoire at the far end of the room.

True to Oswell's word, the armoire was filled with clothes which appeared to fit her. To be completely honest, they weren't all that bad; sure, there were some blouses which she wouldn't be caught dead in, especially one which was hot pink, but the rest were nice. There were also some pants of varying lengths and some skirts that looked… interesting, for lack of a better word. She frowned; nothing useful here. She decided to try the drawers of the vanity, only to find hair brushes, combs, hair ties, accessories which looked like they were more suited for a woman much older than she. The others contained cosmetics, perfumes, and little bottles of various creams that she had never seen much less heard of. Julianna was beginning to question if they took her for an elderly woman.

The nightstands didn't yield results either; all that they contained were old medical books including some about virology, genetics, and medicine; a few magazines geared towards women ( _Cosmopolitan, Red Book, People… I guess if you're bored enough, it's better than nothing,_ Julianna thought), and scraps of paper which contained formulas that she couldn't even begin to decipher. All of it was useless. There wasn't even anything under the bed, not that she expected there to be.

After her thorough search of the bedroom, Julianna then turned her attention to the bathroom which was hidden behind the wooden door she'd seen earlier. It was painted a neutral taupe with white baseboards. The sink was atop a marble vanity with a large mirror above it. A large shelf which contained bottles of shampoo and conditioner (which she learned from reading the front), soaps, towels, and washcloths as well as a toothbrush and toothpaste sat off to the side of the vanity. The bathtub was one which she'd never seen before (if she had, she was sure she would remember it): it was on four feet which looked like a bird of prey's foot clutching a ball in its talons. A red shower curtain on a gold rod which circled the tub overhead, as well as a silver shower head, completed the look. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to bath herself in here without being afraid that it would take a step or two back. At least the toilet, hidden in the far corner, was normal enough.

At this point, Julianna's ire was beginning to bubble back to the surface, fiercer and stronger than before. There wasn't anything she could find that would be even of remote usefulness. Perhaps Oswell was smarter than what she gave him credit for. Frustrated, she leaned against the window sill, looking outside at the raging storm continuing on. Though it was nearly pitch black outside, Julianna could see as though it were high noon. Thanks to such, she was able to see that there was a rather large balcony beneath her. Disinterested, her eyes instead drifted out to what she believed was the back of the mansion.

Stretching for miles it seemed, there as a large garden complete with a hedge maze. Flowers of various colors were in different places and in the direct center of the maze, there appeared to be a massive fountain. She was suddenly itching to go outside but, after seeing a flash of lightning, decided that was a good way to get electrocuted. And God knew she wasn't in the mood for that. It wasn't like she could get out of the room anyways since the door was locked.

She hadn't been in the room for what felt like five minutes and she was already bored out of her mind.

With nothing better to do, Julianna decided to find something to do. First, after smelling a rather interesting odor on her hair, she opted to shower first even though she couldn't shake the feeling that the tub would take a step at any moment while she was inside. Thankfully, no such thing happened and she was able to finish in peace. After her shower- and after switching out her clothes for a blue silk nightgown- Julianna first read the books she'd found in the nightstands, then flipped through the magazines. Going through those, however, made her wonder just what this time period was like if women were resorting to relying on magazines for beauty and personal advice. Julianna didn't think she'd soon forget the graphic detail in which the author explained the best ways to increase sensitivity and not the emotional kind.

Losing interest fast, Julianna then decided to pick something out to wear in the morning. After flipping through everything, she settled on a long sleeve white sweater with black pants, opting to wear her comfortable boots when all she found were shoes which had incredible high heels. _Human women are strange_. With that done, Julianna moved on to playing with her long mahogany hair. Using the brushes and other hair accessories, Julianna tried to recreate the hairstyles she saw in the magazines. After several mishaps which involved a broken brush and seven broken hair ties, Julianna decided she was done torturing herself. Moving on to makeup didn't help at all; once again, she attempted to transform her already beautiful face into what the humans thought were even more beautiful looks. She very quickly gave up on any and all interest in cosmetology that may have been budding after reading the magazines.

Following that misadventure, Julianna decided to stick with re-reading the medical books. All told, she read them four times each until she was able to recite some paragraphs word for word without a second thought. During this, the rain lulled her into sleep for a few minutes before waking back up and showering a second time, just in case the smell of humans had rubbed off on her.

Subsequently, this was how the majority of the night was spent- reading, napping, showering- until she grew bored of this as well after the seventh shower. Deciding to call it a night- even though she wasn't the slightest bit sleepy- Julianna brushed her teeth with the minty tasting paste, relieving herself, and then walking back into the bedroom. Glancing outside, she noticed that the storm had at last stopped and left only the misting rain behind. Judging by how the sky was still dark, however, she estimated it to be around one or two in the morning. Had there been a clock in the room, she'd been able to confirm that. Apparently her captors preferred her to be disoriented more so than she already was.

Not really knowing anything better to do, Julianna plopped herself down on the bed, her entire body bouncing a few times before sinking into the mattress. For several long moments, she just stared up at the blue canopy, listening to the sounds of her heart beating. _It's obvious that they are going to use the fact that I don't remember anything about me,_ she thought. _So let's beat them to the punch. What's the first thing you_ **do** _remember?_

Obviously, she knew her name and, thanks to Oswell's "demonstration" of showing her what she was, that she was an Advent Sang hybrid. _You're superhuman, essentially; super strong, fast, and have better senses than humans._ Feeling her shoulder where the bullet had gone into her, there wasn't so much as a mark. All of the aches and pains she accrued thanks to Wesker were also gone. Hell, she wasn't even fatigued after such rigorous activity.

 _My name is Julianna Dashara, and I'm an Advent Sang hybrid,_ she told herself. _I've been in a cryogenic sleep for two hundred years, but I'm really…_ How old was she? Julianna's brow furrowed in thought. She couldn't remember how old she was, much less when her birthday was. She continued to focus, ignoring the massive headache she received because of it. _My name is Julianna Dashara, and I'm an Advent Sang hybrid. My name is Julianna Dashara, and I'm an Advent Sang hybrid…_

'Yes! I _know_ my name. I _know_ what I am!" Julianna muttered in exasperation. 'But who am I? Who was I before this? Why can't I remember anything?" Tears of frustration welled in her eyes before spilling over her cheeks.

She wasn't just trapped in a mansion with two men who were obviously more than willing to kill her. She also couldn't remember anything about her past, much less herself.

 _I hate this,_ Julianna thought forlornly. _I hate this place, I hate these people, and I hate feeling so fucking helpless!_ Rolling over onto her stomach, she hid her face in her arms and allowed herself to cry taking care to keep her sobbing as quiet as possible (the very _last_ thing she wanted was for one of them to hear her.). The direness of what she was in was slowly starting to sink in, only adding to her depression. If only she could remember something that she could keep hidden from them, something which she could use to her advantage! But no matter how hard she tried to think, the worse her migraine got.

 _You're not solving anything by sitting here crying,_ a harsh voice in her mind said. _Cry if it will make you feel better, but what you need to do is to find a way out of here, not wallow in your pity._ Julianna raised her head at this thought, a thought which brought up an undeniable point. _You must be strong. You must not let them break you or fill your head with lies. Above all, you_ **must** _remember anything you can. If you lose yourself in here, you'll never find your way outside._

Determination suddenly filled Julianna at this. Scrubbing her face with the back of her hand, a stubborn light came to her eyes. _They will_ **not** _win,_ she decided. _I will_ **not** _stay here. And if it means I'll die because of it, so be it._ So be it; she went to the bathroom and scrubbed her face to remove all traces that she was ever crying, then laid back down in bed. Julianna didn't think she would be sleeping for awhile, but it didn't hurt to doze off. Perhaps everything will be better in the morning, or better still, she'll open her eyes in the morning and realize that all of this was just a bad dream. She closed her eyes slowly, taking deep breaths as she did so.

And fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

A bright light woke Julianna the next morning, making her groan and bury herself deeper into her blankets. She kept her eyes closed tightly, determined to wake up as slowly as possible. She still remembered in vivid detail the night before and had hoped that it was all just a bad dream. When her eyes cracked open a bit, however, she was faced with the harsh reality that she was, indeed, still here. _Didn't hurt to hope, I guess,_ Julianna thought, stretching her arms and yawning. She didn't necessarily _need_ to sleep again, but the fact that the bed was quite comfortable had made it difficult _not_ to sleep again. Rolling over onto her back, Julianna briefly stared at the canopy above her, taking the opportunity to listen carefully to the activity around her.

It wasn't hard to hear much though her inhuman hearing was mostly to thank for that. She could hear some people moving around slowly, bringing themselves to the waking worlds. Others were showering, some dressing, most walking around their rooms. It should have been strange that she was able to know that just by listening, but oddly it wasn't.

She was snapped out of her observations by the sounds of her door unlocking, thinking momentarily that it was that blonde man again- Wesker, was it? After all, the footsteps were rather heavy. Whoever it was, was chattering about something that she couldn't quite make out, not that she was interested of course. The door then opened, allowing the owner of the footsteps inside, Julianna sitting up quickly in anticipation for another fight.

She almost fell out of the bed, however, when she saw that it wasn't Wesker, but a young woman.

By appearances, the woman appeared to be more child than anything; her pale face was heart shaped with doe-like brown eyes, a small nose, and full lips painted a light pink. Her wavy black hair was tied up and out of her face by a violet ribbon. Her clothes seemed rather simple as well- a green long sleeved turtle neck and black skinny jeans with black and white shoes on her feet. Those inquisitive eyes looked about the room before settling on Julianna finally. A bright smile crossed her face as she closed the door and practically trotted over to her bedside.

'Good morning!" she said in an airy voice, sitting down beside Julianna, who simply looked to the left and right awkwardly. 'How did you sleep?"

'…Good, I guess," Julianna replied, looking at the young woman who was more girl than anything. The other female didn't say anything about Julianna's apprehension, only took that opportunity to take her hand and shake it visibly.

'That's great!" She replied, never losing that cheery tone. 'I'm Jenna, Jenna Kelly. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Julianna blinked in surprise. 'Didn't you know? I was one of the scientists who made sure you were all good and well inside your cryo chamber. I also was the one who did your blood work, physical examination, and started your blood transfusion." At that last bit, Jenna got a little too close for Julianna to peer into her red eyes and face.

'It looks like you've gotten some more color to you," she noted, releasing Julianna's hand and putting both of her small ones on the pulse points on her neck. 'Your blood pressure is up as well, and your temperature seems to be regulating correctly. If I'm right, you hybrids have trouble with that sometimes, right?" When Julianna didn't reply, she stopped herself. 'Oh… I forgot. You're probably experiencing some memory loss… right?" Julianna only looked away. 'I'm sorry, I didn't think before I spoke. It won't happen again." Jenna sat back and stood up from the bed, removing Julianna's blankets as she did.

'Well, we can't be sitting in bed all day, can we? We have work to do." She said, pulling Julianna to her feet.

'Why are you here?" Julianna asked, not meaning to sound so harsh. Jenna didn't seem to notice her tone.

'I work here, that's why." she replied. Julianna shook her head.

'No, what I meant was-"

'Why I'm here talking to you? Yeah, I guess me coming inside is a little weird." Jenna interrupted, putting a hand behind her head sheepishly. 'I mostly came in here to see how you were adjusting, but also because it would be better for you to see a lady than deal with Albert again." Julianna, who'd been in the act of gathering the clothes she laid out the night before, suddenly paused.

'Albert?" she asked.

'Albert Wesker," Jenna explained. 'You probably met him already. He's usually working in his own section of the mansion, but sometimes he meets with Mr. Spencer. More times than not, when you see one of them, the other is usually there."

'…I see," Julianna said. Memories of how she became acquainted with Wesker flooded her mind suddenly. 'Yes, I am familiar with him. Not the very bright type, is he?"

'No, not really," Jenna agreed. 'I don't talk to him all that often except to bring him paperwork and run tests that he requests. Then again, I don't think he talks to anyone except to give them orders." _Figures why he was such a prick in the first place_ , Julianna thought.

'Anyways, I'm sure you'd like to shower in peace," Jenna continued, changing the subject. 'I'll wait out here until you're done. Then we can go to breakfast together." Julianna nodded, not because she wanted to rather because she didn't know what else to do. It was already surprising that someone was talking to her so casually and in such a friendly manner. _A good change from last night I guess._ She disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving Jenna to her own devices outside.

Locking it for good measure, Julianna leaned against it for several seconds. She didn't like this; a girl just waltzing in and treating her like they were long lost, friends? This reeked of bad intentions. Perhaps she was as she appeared to be; a girl with good intentions for Julianna, perhaps not. The fact that she worked close by Wesker made her question her true intentions.

No matter, being in close proximity with the human made her skin crawl to the point that she practically jumped in the tub, taking out her frustration on her poor skin by scrubbing the living hell out of it. Once she was finished torturing herself, Julianna dried herself off with one of the many fluffy towels (the majority of which were used last night) and dressed quickly in the clothes she'd brought with her. Thankfully, they fit, though the pants were a little tight on her already small waist. After brushing her teeth, Julianna unlocked the door and entered the bedroom where she found that Jenna had made her bed and was now waiting patiently by the vanity.

'There you are!" Jenna said, jumping up from the chair and inviting Julianna to sit down. 'I thought I could fix your hair for you while we talked. Women around here are supposed to keep their hair pulled back at all times for sanitation and safety."

'Safety?" Julianna asked as she sat down, allowing Jenna to run a brush through the long locks.

'It prevents cross contamination," Jenna explained, delicately finding knots and working them out until she was satisfied that there weren't anymore. 'You'll see what I mean after breakfast. Didn't they tell you?" Before Julianna could answer, Jenna added, 'No, I suppose not. Don't worry, I promise you'll know what I'm talking about soon. You've got all of us interested and in high spirits you know. I don't think I've ever seen Mr. Spencer this happy in a long time." Julianna was even more confused than she was before.

'If you don't mind me asking… why is he so interested in Eclipse, besides the fact that he wants to become immortal?" Julianna asked as Jenna began braiding her hair. 'If it's known to turn people into one of two things, why would he want to risk turning into a Sang?"

'That I don't know," Jenna admitted. 'But if I recall correctly, becoming an Advent or Sang is not the only thing that will happen to a person."

'There's a third?"

'Yes," Jenna confirmed, tying off Julianna's braid and wrapping it around the base. 'They die."

'Oh," Julianna said after a moment, feeling stupid to have forgotten that Oswell told her that last night. Then again, her memory was already bad, so it didn't strike her as odd that she was already having trouble remembering simple things. There was, however, one thing that she needed to know… 'What year is it?"

'I'm sorry?" Jenna said, taken off guard by the question.

'What year is it?" Julianna asked again, feeling Jenna's still delicate hands carefully placing some type of pins in her hair to keep the braid where it was.

'Oh, the year," she began, checking her work carefully. 'I would tell you, believe me, but I've been given strict orders not to." Julianna wasn't sure she heard that correctly.

'What do you mean you were ordered not to tell me?"

'None of us are allowed to tell you what year it is," Jenna explained.

'Why?"

'It's not my place to question Wesker," Jenna explained curtly, moving so that she was right beside Julianna. 'Not that I want, mind you."

'Wesker told you not to tell me?" Julianna interrogated.

'Just before I came here. Not personally, if that's what you're wondering. It was in an email." Jenna replied. Julianna looked away from her warm look. _Why does that not surprise me?_ She was beginning to see that Wesker was going to be more of a problem than she originally now. 'Enough of that now; we should head to breakfast now. We'll talk more afterward."

'Very well," Julianna settled, standing up and following Jenna towards the door. Before they went out, however, the young girl stopped her briefly.

'I know you must think that I am working against you," she began quietly, as though she were afraid that someone would overhear them. 'But I want you to know that anything you say to me will never get back to anyone else. I don't expect to be your friend, but you have an ally with me." Julianna stared at her for a long moment.

'Why are you so willing to help me?" Julianna inquired. Jenna was quiet for a time before she met Julianna's gaze once more, a strange look in her eyes that made an image flash before her eyes. It happened so fast that she couldn't tell what it was, exactly, but it was enough to make Julianna wonder where she'd see a look like that before...

'You're not the only person whose trapped here," was all Jenna said before opening the door and heading out into the hall. Julianna was stunned after that revelation, but quickly shook it off and followed Jenna outside, closing the door behind her as she went.

'I suppose you're wondering just when your memory will return, right?" Jenna asked, her cherry attitude returning.

'Yes," Julianna replied, keeping her eyes down as they went along.

'Well, to be honest, I don't know exactly _when_ your memory will return, but there are ways to jumpstart the process of rediscovering them." Jenna explained. 'However, I don't think that such a thing would work for you."

'What do you mean?"

'Everyone's mind is wired differently; some people are able to jump right back into what they were doing prior to their amnesia, others can't. For instance, say that there was a woman who was raped. She would obviously have a hard time readjusting after a traumatic event and would force herself to forget key moments of the attack. In order to help the authorities find the perpetrator, though, she would have to be eased into the moments before the assault happened. Trying to force a person to remember too much too soon is just too risky." Jenna clarified. 'So for the time being, we'll start with simple memories and then work our way to the ones leading up to your… hibernation, if you will."

'How will we be able to do that if I can't remember anything in the first place?" Julianna interjected. Jenna gave her a knowing smile.

'Well, that's what we're going to work on- finding things you _do_ remember. Like, for example, do you remember your favorite color?"

'Midnight blue," Julianna said easily. Jenna nodded in approval.

'How about your favorite food?"

'Anything that's spicy enough to clear my sinuses," Julianna answered, making the raven-haired girl laugh.

'That's my favorite too," she agreed. 'And your favorite season?"

'Spring, with all the flowers and trees," Julianna responded with a smile. _This is pretty easy,_ she thought. _Maybe getting my memory back won't be that hard after all_.

'It seems like you remember basic things at least," Jenna noted. 'What would you say to remember something small that requires a bit of thinking?"

'Why not? It's not like I have anything better to do," said Julianna. Jenna smiled at this.

'Ok, what was the name of your parents?" Julianna's smile faded suddenly. She looked down at the floor beneath them as they walked, trying to conjure up an image of her mother and father. When she couldn't do that, Julianna looked at Jenna in dismay. The younger girl put a hand on the hybrid's shoulder.

'Don't worry," she said reassuringly. 'Everything will be alright. Before you know it, your memory will be right back."

'I hope so," Julianna whispered. As they continued on, Julianna began to see more people emerging from some of the rooms in the halls. Jenna would stop to say hello or good morning to each whereas Julianna would stay silent. Some didn't bother glancing at her, but the majority openly stared as she passed. She didn't like the staring, but Julianna guessed that had she been in their position looking at someone like her… perhaps she would stare as well. At least, she'd be respectful in her observations of another person. This didn't go unseen by Jenna.

'You'll have to excuse some of them," she started. 'This is the first time that they've seen a person like you before. No one believed that an Advent or a Sang still existed, much less a hybrid."

'What about you?" Julianna interrogated. 'You talk as though you've met one before."

'I haven't actually," Jenna admitted. 'I've done an extensive amount of research on them, however, but you're the first hybrid I've ever met."

'Oh… so there're books about them?"

'Yes, there are. All of them are in the library," Jenna confirmed. 'I can show you where they are later if you'd like."

'I would like that very much actually," Julianna said. 'I like to read."

'That's great to hear! You won't run out of books to read, I assure you. The library is quite extensive, but if there's anything specific that you'd like, I can see if I can find at the public library." Julianna's interest was piqued at that.

'There's more libraries?"

'Yes, absolutely!" Jenna spoke. 'Everywhere you go, there's always a public library that houses just about any book you can imagine. But nothing compares to the internet; that's where the most extensive library is, but nothing beats a good hard copy of a text." She got quiet all of a sudden. 'My sister used to tell me that you can learn more from a book than from a person…"

'You have a sister?"

'Had one, yes. She disappeared many years ago when I was still young." Jenna's smile returned. 'She was the smartest person I'd ever seen; anything you wanted to know, she could tell you. She would always have her nose in a book, craving knowledge in the way a man in the desert craved water. I tried to keep up with her reading, but by the time I was finished with one of her books, she'd already read it so many times that she had several memorized."

'Sounds like she was a bookworm."

'Very much so… it seemed like no matter what I asked her, she always had an answer for me, just like our mother," Jenna described. Julianna looked away once she was finished.

'I don't know if I have any brothers or sisters," she said honestly. 'If I do, I don't know if they would still be alive or not. If it's true and I've been asleep for two hundred years… then they're long gone by now."

'Maybe not, though," Jenna piped up. 'Hybrids are just as long-lived as an Advent! Surely they would still be out there."

'Perhaps, but I don't even know if they would know me by sight. I know I wouldn't be able to." Julianna pointed out. No more words passed between the women as a solemn silence fell over them.

'I promise, for as long as you will allow me, I will do whatever it takes to make sure that your memory comes back Julianna," Jenna promised, putting a hand on the hybrid's shoulder. 'It may seem impossible now, but never forget that my door's always open if you need to talk." Julianna glanced at the younger girl, staring into her doe-like eyes which held a kind light within them. Despite herself, Julianna found herself wondering if she was wrong and this girl truly wanted to help her.

 _She's a human and she's with Wesker,_ her mind called out. _None of them can be trusted!_ Realizing that Jenna was still staring at her, Julianna forced herself to smile and nod in return.

'I appreciate that," she said. Right as Julianna replied, Jenna stopped in front of a set of double doors and opened one up, the delicious smells of food causing Julianna's stomach to growl.

'Enough talk for now. Let's eat!" Jenna said enthusiastically. Julianna nodded and followed her inside, wondering just what the day would bring after breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** \- Thanks so much for the reviews and follows so far. You guys are awesome!

* * *

Jenna hadn't been kidding about having a lot of work to do.

Once they'd finished breakfast, she'd insisted that they make haste to the lab which Julianna learned was hidden underneath the mansion, making her wonder just how big this place was. The only visible way inside was by inserting a special code (which Jenna had entered so quickly that she'd not been able to see exactly what it was), and everything was so white that it was nearly blinding. There was a strange scent in the air that Julianna couldn't quite describe either. Whatever it was, it certainly was powerful.

Jenna's office, it seemed, was the only one that had a different color to it and, unlike the others, wasn't as unorganized; a bright cheery yellow that was almost a complete reflection of Jenna herself. Papers were scattered all over the desk which sat off in a corner with what Jenna had explained was a computer on top of it. A cabinet filled with almost every medical utensil one could imagine, files filled with things that Jenna was adamant were classified, and an exam table in the very center of the room.

The very first thing she'd done was check Julianna's vitals- blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, and pulse- before conducting a more thorough physical exam which involved Julianna having to remove all but her lingerie. It had made her feel self-conscious for a few moments, but Jenna put her at ease by making it as quick as possible. All the while, she would take the time to note anything that she found curious.

For one, she was particularly interested in a scar which was on Julianna's neck (one she would have never known was there if she hadn't mentioned it). By appearances, Jenna guessed that it was a bite wound that likely happened before her hibernation. Another abnormal bit about her was the fact that there were two small, but incredibly sharp looking, fangs that replaced her normal canines. Jenna had no explanation as to how she came to have them. Julianna suspected they had something to do with the Sang blood that she carried inside her.

Finally, they came to their current activity- drawing blood.

'I thought you'd already gotten that," Julianna said after Jenna began pulling out a strange needle and several empty vials that had her name and other bits of information scrawled on them. Jenna gave her an apologetic look.

'We did, but we need more to compare it with samples from the Advents and Sangs," Jenna explained. 'Whoever placed you in your cryogenic sleep was kind enough to leave four vials which contained samples of both. It's not going to be easy to do this without recent samples of each, but we have to work with what we got."

'I still don't see why the sample you took from me in the first place won't work…" Julianna muttered. Jenna patted her still bare shoulder.

'Orders are orders," she answered, producing a blue length of elastic. 'If you don't mind, please relax your arm as much as possible and make a fist." She asked, tying the elastic around Julianna's bicep. The hybrid did as she was bid and relaxed her arm while Jenna's latex covered finger began pressing at the vein in the crook of her arm. _Looking for a good one,_ Julianna guessed. Apparently she found one that was suitable, for Jenna took out a small packet from her lab coat pocket, ripped it open and took out a flat white square that had an antiseptic smell to it before rubbing it all over the place where one of Julianna's veins was showing through the skin.

'Hope you're not afraid of needles," Jenna said, grabbing said needle and pulling off the cap before angling it just right. 'You can look away if you want."

'I'm fine," Julianna said, watching as the slender bit of steel slid into her vein easily. Almost immediately, blood began to fill the vial which had been attached to the back of the needle. She never flinched or looked away when Jenna took it out and attached another to that end. All told, she took about ten vials of blood before producing a cotton ball and pressing it just over the place where the needle was in her arm before withdrawing it and wrapping a sticky blue material over the cotton ball and her arm before finally taking off the elastic.

'You shouldn't need this with your regenerative abilities, but just in case they aren't fully working yet, I'd rather put it on you," Jenna said conversationally, picking up the vials and taking them to the cabinet where a strange metal container sat. As she put one vial in each slot of it, Julianna took that as her cue to get dressed.

'How long have you been doing this?" Julianna asked, slipping back into her pants.

'About six years now," Jenna admitted. 'I got accepted into college when I was seventeen and had my degree in medical assisting when I was twenty-four. Thankfully, I was able to find work with Umbrella rather than spend the rest of my life slaving away in a hospital."

'Umbrella?"

'It's one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world besides Tricell," Jenna explained before stopping herself. 'You probably don't know what that means-"

'Pharmaceutical is the manufacturing and dispensing of medication" Jenna gave her a surprised look. 'I read about it in a book up in my room."

'I was about to ask if you had a background in medicine with all those words," Jenna laughed.

'I think I might have because I knew exactly what all the terms on your paper meant."

'I thought you couldn't-"

'I can't remember big details about my life, but I'd like to think I know my fair share of medical things since those books weren't difficult to understand." Julianna admitted.

'It's possible that you might have then," Jenna concurred. 'Speaking of your memory, we'll work on some exercises a little later to see if we can get it up and running again."

'I thought you said that that was a bad idea since I've been sleeping for so long?"

'I did, but I'd like to start small and work from there." Jenna clarified, handing Julianna her shirt.

'How long will I be staying down here?"

'At the most, I'll have you remain here each day for no longer than an hour. I'm sure you would get bored really quick watching me decipher the results of your tests," Jenna said.

'Actually, I think I wouldn't mind to sit in and watch. It'd give me something more to do and be less work for you if you have anything that needs to be done around here," Julianna replied. 'It looks like you have your hands full enough running tests for everyone when your office could use some tidying up." She hoped Jenna wouldn't take offense to her pointing that out. Thankfully, the young woman simply smiled in appreciation.

'Well, that's very kind of you to offer to do so, but I'm afraid all you'll be allowed to do at most for me is help me sort papers and the like. The medical tests will be run by me and whoever else they have assigned to work alongside me," Jenna explained. 'Besides, I rarely get out of here until about nine or ten at night, so it'd be nice to have an extra set of hands. But God knows I wouldn't want to put undue stress-"

'I almost went crazy from boredom last night, so it's no problem for me," Julianna assured her as she pulled on her shirt and smoothed it out.

'I almost guessed as much after I saw the towels piled up in your room and the broken hairbrush," Jenna pointed out. 'If it's alright for me to ask, why _did_ you take so many showers?"

'I didn't like the way I smelled," Julianna began, pulling her boots back on and lacing them up. 'I don't know why, but it seemed like being around a human makes my skin crawl."

'You'll probably scrub the ever living hell out of your skin tonight then after being around me all day," Jenna laughed. 'I guess your senses of smell and the like are so sensitive that the smells that someone like me would have would be the foulest things to you."

'Everyone that was in the dining hall smelled horrible to me," Julianna admitted. 'Almost as bad as Oswell does."

'Mr. Spencer had an odor to him?"

'It's not an odor, it's a universal smell that all of you humans seem to have," the redhead explained. 'Almost like something is decaying if you will. Like a flower, that's been dried out for a long time."

'Oh, I see. So… it's like a stench of death?" Jenna asked.

'Something like that, yeah," Julianna agreed. 'You're different, though. There's no scent of death around you." Her eyes grew serious suddenly. 'How old are you, anyways?" Jenna was taken off guard for a moment.

'How old do I look?" she asked. Julianna glanced at her for a minute or two before answering.

'To be completely honest, you look like a child trapped in a woman's body."

'I suppose that's what I get for not looking my age," Jenna laughed. 'I'm actually twenty-six, though."

'You're older than me then."

'Not necessarily. You're two hundred years older than me, remember? Now it's my turn: how old are _you_?" Julianna smiled a little at that question.

'How old do _I_ look?" she asked in the same tone as Jenna had. Brown eyes looked her up and down in return.

'You look like you're nineteen years old."

'And you could pass for a fourteen-year-old."

'Well, they do say that it's a good thing if you don't look your age," Jenna said with a giggle. She started to say something else before a harsh knock on the door interrupted her, drawing not only her attention but Julianna's. The moment her red eyes locked on the door, she sensed something on the other side, something far stronger than any normal human…

'Come in!" Jenna called, not noticing that Julianna's entire body had tensed. The door opened and heavy footsteps entered the office. All at once, the atmosphere changed as Wesker came over the threshold, locking eyes with Julianna as he came in.

'Good morning, Wesker," the raven-haired girl began, her smile disappearing. The blonde man didn't even seem to notice that the women had been enjoying a good conversation. Just as he had last night, Wesker was still wearing all black, except this time his black coat was gone. The sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up to reveal his forearms and a pair of black gloves covered his hands.

'Jenna," he replied in that cold voice, never looking away from Julianna. 'Have you finished the tests I asked of you?"

'Yes, I have," Jenna answered, going to her desk to pick up a folder and walking back to him. 'The results are all here." Wesker accepted the documents from her and opened up the folder, flipping through the papers.

'And the samples from Miss Dashara?" he asked without raising his head. Julianna bristled at that- she didn't like the way her surname came from his mouth. As a matter of fact, she didn't like anything that came from him. If he noticed her reaction, he surely didn't say anything.

'I just took some new ones from her this morning," Jenna confirmed. 'I'll be examining them alongside the samples found in her chamber later this afternoon. I expect to have a report on my initial findings before the end of the day."

'Good," Wesker said, closing the folder and looking at the hybrid before him. She couldn't see for certain, but Julianna was more than sure that his eyes had been looking her up and down. That _almost_ was enough to make her take a swing at him. _Almost_. Given that his sunglasses prevented anyone from seeing his eyes, she wasn't one hundred percent sure. Another tense moment passed between them before he turned to leave. 'And Jenna?" He called over his shoulder.

'Yes?"

'If for any reason our house guest is uncooperative with you, give me a call as soon as possible and I will make sure there will be no more insubordination on her part." Wesker finished, walking out the door and closing it behind him. Julianna gave the place where he once stood a death glare. What she would give to have her guns back! _That son of a bitch better be so glad that I'm unarmed._ She conveniently forgot how futile it had been shooting at him in the first place.

'Don't mind him, Julianna," Jenna said, touching the hybrid's shoulder. 'He does that to everyone."

'He's a prick," Julianna huffed under her breath. Jenna laughed.

'Well, he pretty much runs the place, so he's not paid to be a sweetheart." Jenna admitted. 'Not to mention he can be a bit melodramatic at times." This caught Julianna's attention.

'Oh?"

'Yeah, especially when it comes to things that annoy him," Jenna said. 'For instance, there was someone not too long ago that was talking about some anti-terrorist group. They brought up a guy's name and he just got all high and mighty about it before going into this longwinded speech about how they are the biggest nuisance."

'Sounds like he'll be doing the same about me pretty soon," Julianna guessed.

'And if he does, I'll let it go in one ear and out the other," Jenna added, her smile returning. She turned back to her desk and walked over to it. 'Now then, I promised you that I would give you the books I've been reading about the Advents and the Sangs, didn't I?" Julianna nodded, her interest piqued at the mention of books. Jenna nodded in return and bent over to open a drawer. Grabbing what she was looking for, Jenna dispensed nearly ten books on top of the dark wooden surface. Julianna's eyes went wide at the sight, her mind completely blown by how many were there. But Jenna wasn't finished; over and over she reached into the drawer and pulled out more books until there were three stacks of twelve books each right in front of them.

'These will no doubt keep you busy for hours," Jenna laughed, seeing Julianna's expression. The hybrid shook her head and came closer to the books, picking them up one by one to look at the titles. _Never To Die: An Account of Advents, Bloodborne: The Horror of Eclipse, The Other Dracula, this is the jackpot of history books,_ Julianna thought. Her spirits rose as she looked at them, hoping that they would help her to remember something about her history. _If anything, I'll know more about how I came to be,_ she thought, sitting down on a stool that had been sitting by the medical cabinet and picking up one of the books.

For the rest of the day, that was how Julianna passed the time. While Jenna worked on her blood samples, Julianna learned that Eclipse was spread through contact with an infected person's blood or bodily fluids. When Jenna input her findings on a handheld device, Julianna found that the process of becoming an Advent or a Sang took seventy-two hours. She also took note that not every person would change if infected: the mortality rate was so high that only thirty percent of people would be fortunate enough to become an Advent while the other seventy percent either died or became a Sang. At least with the Advents, Eclipse died out without ever harming the person again whereas the Sangs were forever cursed with Eclipse for the rest of their lives.

Instead of going to lunch with Jenna, Julianna remained behind to continue reading, this time going through a rather thick book which detailed accounts of some humans who'd been alive during the major outbreak in 1897 (Ironically just three months after the publication of the novel _Dracula_ ) who described how they'd seen neighbors and family members die screaming that their blood was boiling in their veins. It even went into graphic detail of how those who were afflicted ripped their veins from their arms in a last desperate attempt to stop the pain only to die minutes later from both blood loss and pain. _A horrible way to die,_ Julianna thought to herself. She was momentarily glad that she was born with Eclipse rather than having to change in the way other Advents had.

Somewhere towards the middle of the book, Julianna found a chapter delegated solely to the hybrids of Advents and Sangs. This proved as interesting as the rest of the book, specifically, when one of the chapters described exactly _how_ one was able to know if they were in the presence of an Advent Sang hybrid:

 _Born of unions between Advent mothers and Sang fathers, hybrids are every bit as powerful as their parents. Like their sires, hybrids are adept at hiding in the open, but there are a few signs that may indicate that someone is a hybrid. The very first thing one will notice is the vibrancy of the hybrid's eyes. Ranging from algae greens to sapphire blues, stormy grays and the palest of silvers. There are even reported cases of hybrids having the bloody carmines of a Sang or even reptilian oranges and amber tiger eyes. In certain light spectrums- specifically ultraviolet light- their eyes will give off a glow._

Julianna paused here for a moment. That was most certainly interesting. She continued on.

 _Another interesting fact is that hybrids also have a near translucent skin color which will also glow under certain light spectrums. This is especially seen when one is standing under the moonlight. It's possible that when this occurs, provided the naked eye is keen enough to notice, one can observe what appears to be a violet substance flowing through the veins of their face. This is believed to be Eclipse coursing through the hybrid's veins._

 _Just as their Sang fathers, however, hybrids are forever cursed to carry Eclipse. Because it is constantly eating away at their red blood cells, hybrids must undergo blood transfusions at certain parts of their lives to replenish what they have lost. It's for this reason that many go mad for the lust of blood and have the potential to become a Sang if they happen to ingest human blood. Because of this, one should never underestimate the danger of associating one's self with an Advent Sang hybrid. While they are indeed beautiful to behold and see, it can mean an abrupt end to one's life very quickly._

'Oh really now?" Julianna said out loud, rolling her eyes in annoyance. 'If we're so dangerous, what does that mean for humans?"

'It means we are monsters for fearing what we don't know and destroying that which we refuse to understand." Jenna's voice rang out, taking Julianna by surprise. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I don't think you even noticed that I was gone in the first place; you didn't even raise your head when I left." Jenna laughed at this.

'It's perfectly fine. I didn't realize that I'd been so deep in the books," Julianna replied.

'You must have learned something new today, then."

'I did actually. Quite a bit to be specific." Julianna affirmed. 'Thank you for letting me read these."

'It's no trouble at all. Feel free to take some back with you to your room if you like." Jenna offered, to which Julianna decided to take up on. 'Are there any questions that you have that I can help you with?" The way she asked Julianna that made her wonder if she was expecting Julianna to say instead that the book answered any she may have had. In all honesty, Julianna almost said that, but catching the eager look in Jenna's eyes, she decided that that would just be rude.

'Actually, there is," Julianna began, not missing the bright smile that came to Jenna's face. 'I'd like to see for myself what Eclipse does to certain blood samples."

'Oh… you want to know if it's true that it causes the blood to boil in a person's veins."

'Yes," Julianna answered. Jenna nodded and motioned for her to follow her to the cabinet. Julianna marked her place and got up from her seat to the place Jenna indicated for her to stand.

'It's not Eclipse that does it," Jenna explained, taking a few vials out from a drawer that was so cold the air around it became white. 'Rather it's the body. Usually, when a person gets sick, the first sign is a fever. Fevers come about while the body is fighting an infection, but in the case of Eclipse, it's a double-edged sword." She poured blood from each vial into three small petri dishes, saving the last one for a sample of Julianna's blood. 'Eclipse reacts to heat in extraordinary ways. It's almost like it goes into a frenzy to take up all the red blood cells it touches, in a similar way that sharks go crazy from blood in the water." Taking a plastic dropper, she dipped it into a tiny vial that had a violet hue to it. Holding it up to Julianna, she could see that it seemed to give off a strange… glow?

'This is a sample of Eclipse in its advanced stage," Jenna explained before lowering it to one of the petri dishes. 'Watch what happens when I put it in the dish with the human blood." Carefully, she put a couple of drops in the dish. Almost immediately, the blood began to hiss and bubble causing steam to rise from the dish. This went on for a good thirty seconds before stopping, leaving only dried black blood in the place where the carmine fluid had been.

'That means that the person wasn't compatible with the virus?" Julianna guessed. Jenna nodded.

'This person would have died in minutes from pain," Jenna answered. 'Now observe what happens with this sample." She moved the dropper over the center petri dish and repeated the same actions as with the first. The blood in that dish turned black in a matter of seconds. 'Can you guess what would have happened to this person?"

'They became a Sang," Julianna muttered.

'Exactly. If they had been an Advent, there would have been no change to it." She moved her hand to the last dish which contained Julianna's blood. 'And now we come to your blood." She dropped a couple of drops into the dish. Surprisingly, the blood neither boiled or turned black. Instead, it seemed to swirl with both black and red, making it seem like an unholy whirlpool until the black began to overwhelm the red. 'This is what's going on in your body right now," Jenna broke down. 'Your red blood cells are being destroyed by the Eclipse virus. If you hadn't gotten a transfusion the moment you awoke, you would have become a Sang. That's why if you ever feel fatigued or lightheaded, you need to tell me right away." She warned Julianna. But Julianna didn't hear her. No, something worse had crossed her mind, one that sent chills down her spine at just what it could mean.

'If what you're telling me is true and each person is different in how they will react to Eclipse… then that means that the virus is capable of choosing who will live and who will die."


	6. Chapter 6

'You hit it right on the button." Jenna agreed. 'Eclipse is a real life example of natural selection; only those with the right genes will live to either pass on the virus to others or live to pass on their genes to the next generation to someone like you." Jenna started to say something else but was cut off by the sounds of the phone ringing.

'Excuse me for a moment," Jenna began, going back to her desk and picking up the receiver. 'Hello?" Julianna could hear for what appeared to be a man's voice asking for Jenna. 'Yes, this is she. What can I do for you?" Julianna leaned back against the cabinet, resolving to look more closely at the vial containing Eclipse while Jenna carried on her conversation. The purple liquid never lost it glow, seemingly growing brighter when Julianna's hand reached out to touch it. _If it could, it would probably jump out of that vial and come after me,_ she thought. So engrossed in observing it, Julianna never heard Jenna put down the receiver until she walked back over to Julianna quickly.

'I apologize for that," she said, taking the three petri dishes and running them under a water faucet for a few minutes before taking the vial of Eclipse and putting it back in the refrigerated drawer, an audible lock coming from it after it was closed. 'I hate to run off, but I've been called to another section of the lab. Will you be alright here on your own?"

'Is everything alright?"

'Yes, it's perfectly fine, just a test subject that's decided to make a break for it." Jenna laughed nervously. 'I'll lock the door so that no one bothers you while I'm gone. I'll be back as soon as I can." With those words, Jenna rushed out the door, locking it true to her word and running away from the office.

Julianna waited for several minutes, just to make sure that Jenna wouldn't come back unexpectedly before turning her attention to the monitor on the desk, seeing that Jenna hadn't signed out of her account. Glancing at the strange board in front of her, Julianna's eyes took a moment to adjust to seeing that they weren't just any keys, but ones that had letters on them. Curious, she touched one and jerked it back quickly when a blank screen popped up. Judging by the blinking black cursor on it, Julianna guessed that it was something to write words on. But how did one use such a thing to write with?

Experimentally, she began pressing different letters on the keyboard, watching in awe as they appeared on the display in front of her. After taking a few minutes to familiarize herself with what key did what, Julianna soon was able to articulate herself on what she realized was a Word document. _How did humans come up with such a thing_ , she wondered, playing around with the document until she'd typed up a complete ten-page document about what she'd learned from the books she'd read.

Once she'd satisfied her curiosity, she turned to opening something else using the little device beside the keyboard that moved a little white cursor on the screen. Seeing an E at the edge of the screen, she moved the cursor over to it and clicked. When nothing happened, she tried again. Realizing that she needed to click two times, Julianna tried it. Sure enough, a whole new screen opened up with space beneath the word Google. She could only stare in wonder, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. Clicking the little bar, a list opened up beneath it. _Hairstyles for long hair, makeup for brown eyes, Watch The Exorcism of Emily Rose online free._ Julianna had no idea what the last one was about but clicked it anyways.

And discovered a whole new world.

She spent a good hour looking through them, searching up different things and watching to see how many results came up. _This is amazing,_ her mind echoed. There were so many things on this electronic device that her mind was even more blown than before. _Jenna was right; this_ is _the biggest library in existence._ When she ran out of things to look up, Julianna decided to instead try typing in things that Jenna had told her, specifically Umbrella. When she clicked the arrow, she was directed to a page which had a red and white hexagon beside the red letters that spelled Umbrella.

Navigating through some of the links at the top, Julianna learned that Umbrella had been founded in the late 1960's by Oswell Spencer and two other men whose names she didn't recognize. According to the site, Umbrella was praised for its pharmaceutical work and the many lives they'd saved because of their work. Julianna wanted to scoff at this: how did they explain the creatures that had been sent to kill her last night then?

Whatever the case, Julianna became bored looking at the site and decided she'd seen enough for one day. Starting to click out of the window, something made her pause for a moment. It took a moment for her to recognize what it was that made her do so, but eventually Julianna realized that this was her chance to see exactly what year it was.

The temptation was incredibly strong, but she had no opportunity to even search it when she heard someone outside the door. Quickly closing the window, Julianna grabbed a book and pretended to be looking at it. Sure enough, it opened to reveal Jenna. Julianna glanced up at her and then looked back at her when she noticed that something was off about her.

'Jenna," She began, putting the book to the side and coming up to her side. Jenna gave her a reassuring smile as she closed the door. 'Is everything alright?"

'Yes, everything's fine now," Jenna said, taking off her lab coat. 'I just didn't expect to be gone as long as I had. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

'What happened if I may ask?"

'A subject of ours decided that it didn't like its accommodations, so it wanted to get out for some exercise. We have some people in quarantine because of it now, so it's going to be a long night for me until I get out of here." Jenna explained in an exasperated voice.

'Why is that?" Julianna asked.

'Whenever there's an incident like this, everyone has to fill out a form describing what happened. An incident report, they're called. Since there's been some who need medical attention now, it's got everyone in a bad mood. Especially Wesker. We're not going to hear the end of this one from him." Jenna added, putting her head in her hands. 'I dread the melodrama that's going to go down at the next meeting."

'Why would he be angry at you for this? It wasn't any of your faults, was it?"

'In Wesker's eyes, it is. He expects perfection out of everything."

'So he's pissed all to hell." Jenna snorted at this.

'You don't even know." Julianna couldn't help but be grateful for the fact that she wasn't working under Wesker now. A thought suddenly crossed her mind.

'When exactly is this browbeating meeting?" she asked. Jenna, who'd put her head down on her arms, didn't even look up at her.

'This evening," Jenna revealed. 'Everyone has to be there and it's going to be absolute hell." The thought that was floating around in Julianna's head made an idea manifest. _If everyone- including Wesker- is going to be preoccupied with this meeting, then this is the perfect opportunity to escape._

'I see," Julianna replied, taking care to keep any indication that she was planning something out of her demeanor. 'So what do we do in the meantime?" Jenna raised her head at this.

'Well, for one, we get out of the office for the day. I think I've kept you cooped up in here long enough." She said, picking up a couple of the books Julianna had been reading and handing them to her before picking up a few more and leading her out of the office. 'Has Mr. Spencer told you if you were allowed to walk about the mansion?"

'Yes," Julianna answered. 'He said that I may enter the doors which open to my hand but not to go outside the gated areas."

'At least, you'll be able to get some fresh air," Jenna noted. 'The garden is very beautiful if you'd like to take a walk."

'I would actually," Julianna admitted. _It would give me an opportunity to find a way out of here._

'As soon as we get back to your room to drop off these books, I'll show you to the terrace which leads to the garden. I'm afraid you'll be on your own, however. I have to start my reports tonight."

'Are you sure you don't require any assistance?"

'Another time, I'll take you up on that, but as it is, I have to politely decline," Jenna said with a smile. They had just turned a corner when they both simultaneously heard the angry shouts of someone coming down the hall. 'Oh shit."

'What is it?" Julianna asked. Jenna motioned for her to be silent as they both listened closely. This time, Julianna was able to make out the familiar tone of Wesker's voice. Just as Jenna predicted, he was raising hell about what had just happened.

'How difficult is it for you ignorant creatures to understand how to lock a simple door?" The sounds of something being thrown caused both women to jerk in surprise.

'I think that's our cue to go," Jenna said quickly.

'I think so too," Julianna agreed as they hurried down the next hall.

* * *

To say that Wesker was furious was a severe understatement.

When he'd caught wind of a Hunter making a break for it, like everyone else, he'd double timed it to the enclosure area to see what had happened. He'd expected to see that the situation was under control and said Hunter was recaptured. What he'd found instead was five people severely injured and in need of emergency medical care, three that were potentially infected, and a B.O.W that was now running somewhere inside or outside the mansion; as if having an amnesiac hybrid that Oswell was adamant about keeping around for an undisclosed amount of time wasn't bad enough.

 _Incompetency at its finest,_ he thought angrily, not even listening to the excuse that the younger man in front of him was making up on the spot no doubt. It was so odd that when a higher up got involved in the situation that everyone points the finger in every direction other than themselves. He never could understand what went through human minds anymore. Over and over again the humans tried to explain what went wrong, but all they did was add more fuel to the raging fire that was building inside him.

But when one of them had the _audacity_ to say that it was an unpreventable occurrence, his anger boiled over.

' _Unpreventable_?" He spat, slamming his right fist into the wall so hard that it caused a massive dent and making every person in the near vicinity jump in surprise. 'You've all been working for _years_ now and you dare to tell me that this was _unpreventable_? How difficult is it for you ignorant creatures to understand how to lock a simple door?" The nearby table was grabbed suddenly and flung clear across the room, sending said ignorant creatures scrambling to get out of the way. As expected with his inhuman strength, it shattered against the wall, sending pieces through the air. A tense moment of silence fell upon the room.

'I grow tired of your insolence," Wesker finally said, his voice laced with malice. 'From this point forward, I will not tolerate any more episodes like this. You all have until this evening to track down the Hunter and apprehend it before it gets a chance to escape. Fail and I promise none of you will live to regret it." He started to say something else but was cut off by the sounds of his cellphone beeping. Dismissing the humans with a wave of his hand, he turned his attention from the fast retreating researchers to the small handheld device. Pressing the screen with his thumb, he raised it to his ear.

'What is it?" he asked harshly. The person on the other line hesitated for a moment.

'Wesker? It's Jenna," the young woman said on the other line.

'I know, I saw on the caller id," Wesker barked, exiting the small office and walking out into the hall. 'What do you want?"

'I know that there's already enough madness from the Hunter's escape this afternoon," she began, taking a breath. 'But we have another problem." Wesker groaned audibly and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

'Don't tell me another one got out."

'If only it were that," Jenna continued. 'But it's not a Hunter or any of the other B. . It's Julianna." Wesker's hand dropped at that.

'What did _she_ do?" he grumbled, absolutely not in the mood to deal with the mahogany haired hybrid.

'It's not what she did. Rather it's something that we found with her, specifically the sample of Eclipse," Jenna explicated. His attention was caught right away.

'Go on."

'When I found the vial in her cryo-chamber, I thought that it was indeed Eclipse. It displayed the same chemical makeup, the same mutations, and the same properties as described. It also reacted just as I thought it would with the different blood samples that we have by boiling it until it is gone or turning it black-"

'You tell me nothing that I don't already know."

'-but the time that it was exposed to the air changed it to something else. It's indeed a virus, but it's not the one you're looking for." Wesker, who'd been walking down the hall to his own office, froze in his tracks.

'I don't like what you're implying here," he said. Jenna took a deep breath and released it.

'The virus we have is a fake," she finally said. 'It's not Eclipse, but a decoy virus that was meant to throw us off. I don't know how it was done or how it's even possible to do something like that, but whoever put it in there with Julianna obviously knew that someone was going to find it and use it for something."

Wesker was dead silent for several minutes. He didn't move or even seem to breathe.

Without warning, for the second time that day, he slammed his fist into the wall yet again.

'Are you telling me that we've been experimenting with the wrong virus the entire time?"

'Unfortunately yes," Jenna confirmed. 'It's just a genetically modified version of anemia crossed with the flu."

'And it did this after being exposed to the air?"

'It's my belief that it did this after contact with the air, yes. I think what happened is that when it was created, it was meant to last only for a certain amount of time before it reverted back to what it originally was." Wesker didn't answer for a time, running this all over in his mind. None of it made sense, but perhaps that was the intent all along. It had all seemed too easy, yes, but it was clear to him now that whoever had put that girl in the cryogenic sleep…

'It appears we've underestimated the cunning of the Advents," he said, more to himself that to Jenna. 'Our only option now is to extract it from the hybrid."

'That leads me to my next point," Jenna continued. 'We were able to extract _traces_ of Eclipse from Julianna's DNA, but not enough to get a complete sample. There's no visible way I can see to get it by her blood alone. Even if we could, the chances of it creating an Advent are too slim."

'And what do you _propose_ to be a better option?" Wesker replied, merely humoring Jenna.

'Eclipse is contracted _only_ through contact with bodily fluids and blood itself," Jenna began. 'It's extraordinary in that it _chooses_ who to change and who to kill. It's almost as though it has a mind of its own. With that said, it's just too risky to just inject a person with Julianna's blood. Even with the Advent sample that we have wouldn't work because Eclipse dies out when the person becomes one. And if we chose to use the Sang sample, it would turn them into a raving maniac craving blood." Wesker frowned after Jenna finished.

'The samples are useless then?"

'Yes," Jenna confirmed. 'Unless we found one from each race, I don't think we can get a more recent sample."

'You realize that you've inconvenienced me greatly with this information, don't you?" he asked in a dangerous voice. He could almost hear Jenna shudder on the other line.

'I do… but there is a potential solution." She effectively piqued the blonde's interest.

'I'm listening."

'In humans, we typically inherit twenty-three pairs of chromosomes each from our parents. It's widely accepted that in the event there's an extra, it will cause Down syndrome. But with Julianna, it's different."

'What do you mean?"

'Julianna has an extra strain of DNA. She has a completely new set of chromosomes," Jenna illuminated. 'This extra set is what gives her the superhuman abilities attributed to Advents: strength and speed; acute sight, hearing, and smell; and of course, her regenerative abilities." She gave Wesker a moment to absorb this. 'We can't extract the Eclipse virus through her blood, that's a given. But if we can replicate her DNA… we may be able to create a new species after all." All was silent on Wesker's end as he considered the new possibilities that Jenna was implying.

'I never doubted your talents for a moment, Jenna," he noted, a smirk coming to his lips. 'Be sure to include this in your initial findings and send them to me immediately." He paused for a second. 'In the meantime, I want you to continue winning over our house guest. I have a most amusing idea in mind for her."

'Yes, Wesker," Jenna replied. With that said Wesker disconnected the call and replaced his phone back into his side pocket. Any anger he felt was suddenly sucked out of him a like vacuum. It was indeed unfortunate that they couldn't obtain a sample from the hybrid by conventional means, but perhaps all was not lost with what he had in mind. His smirk widened into a sick smile as he continued on down the hall.

Perhaps the hybrid would prove more useful than he originally thought.

* * *

 **A/N-** Apparently no one ever told Wesker that it's never that easy to get something out of a person. ;)

Please continue to review the story! They are like my coffee in the morning and tea in the evening. =W=


	7. Chapter 7

Julianna took a deep breath of the outdoor air as she sat on the gray stone bench in the garden, taking in the sights all around her. After Jenna left her to her own devices, Julianna had navigated her way through the massive hedge maze that encompassed the entire garden within it. It had taken some trial and error to find her way to the place where she now sat, but when she'd found it, her breath had been taken away: the particular spot she'd chosen was in the most secluded part and surrounding by massive bushes and trees that effectively hid her from view. The delicate smell of lupines, marigolds, and roses blended together to create a lovely scent that was very pleasant to Julianna.

 _If I'd been here on different terms, I'd actually say that this is my favorite place,_ Julianna thought. She sat there for a few minutes more, resolved to just enjoy the calmness around her. It was very hard for her not to feel so peaceful. In fact, she wasn't sure anyone could resist the allure of such a beautiful garden, regardless if they were a prisoner or not. Her moment of tranquility came to an abrupt stop by that thought. It reminded her of the reason she had come out here in the first place. _Right, time to look for a way out of here._ Sighing, she heeded the call of the little voice which had recommended this and reluctantly rose off the bench to follow the small path which led to the right.

Remembering that the only thing to the right was the mansion, Julianna's carmine eyes scanned the left side for signs of the fence that Oswell had alluded to last night. She snorted at the word _mansion._ This was more of a prison than a mansion though it was a rather pretty prison at that but still peculiar. She didn't think that any place that happened to have a hidden lab underneath could be described as anything other than peculiar. Taking every path that went left, Julianna ventured further and further into the garden, subsequently going farther away from the mansion.

Sometime during her walking, Julianna's acute ears made out the sounds of something following her, coupled with the sensation of being watched. Stopping, Julianna slowly turned around, scanning the area behind her carefully. Just as she suspected, there was nothing there but yet her senses remained on edge. Something wasn't right; not only was she getting the feeling of being stalked, but everything around her was too still and quiet. _I don't like this,_ Julianna thought. _I don't like this in the slightest._ She stood stock still for several more minutes, still hearing something approaching her until all at once the sounds stopped and all was still once again.

When she heard nothing more, Julianna turned back around and proceeded along her way, resuming her watch for a way out. The paths she'd been taking had at last led her to a tall stone wall with no visible foot holes or even so much as scratches to indicate that something had tried to get out before her. Not to be deterred, her eyes wandered upwards, assessing the wall carefully. Judging from her current position, she estimated the height of the wall to be a good ten feet, possible twelve. _I can make that jump no problem._ Julianna looked around her once again, just to make sure that there wasn't anyone around. When she saw nothing, Julianna took a few steps back and focused all her attention on the top of the wall.

Before she could even attempt it, however, Julianna was cut off by the low sounds of something growling. Every muscle in her body simultaneously tensed up and the fine hairs on the back of her neck rose. Those growls sounded eerily familiar to the ones that she'd heard last night from what Oswell had called the Hunter… her mind suddenly went back to what Jenna had told her before coming out here.

 _A subject of ours decided that it didn't like its accommodations, so it wanted to get out for some exercise,_ the raven-haired woman's echoed in her mind. _Jenna never said that they caught it…_

Oh. Shit.

Realizing the position she was in, Julianna instinctively reached for her guns, but at the feeling of nothing being at her hip, a chill went down her spine. The memory of Wesker taking her weapons from her flashed before her eyes. _Well isn't this just fan-fucking-tastic._ Not only was she being stalked by a rogue test subject, but she was also unarmed. _Thank you very much, Wesker,_ she thought wryly. _You son of a-_ Her thought was cut short by the sounds of something coming straight through the hedge in front of her. Julianna barely had time to leap and roll to the side to avoid the sharp claws of the Hunter that had thrown itself at her. Julianna quickly stood up and backed off from it. The Hunter got to its legs as well, shrieking at the hybrid before it. _Probably pissed that it missed me._ The creature raised one of its hands and slowly approached her, clearly ready to take her down with one swipe. _Not today, you're not._

The Hunter quickened its pace, lunging at the red-head and swiping down its hand. Julianna jumped out of the way quickly. With no other option, she turned and ran as fast as her hybrid speed would take her, running in different directions to try and lose the creature. But to her shock, the Hunter was able to keep up with her with relative ease.

'Son of a bitch!" Julianna hissed as she kept moving, making sure to dodge any attacks from the Hunter. _If it wasn't for the blonde haired drama queen, I wouldn't be in this fucking position right now!_ This was just the icing on the cupcake. How could things get any worse?

Coming to the conclusion that her only option was to make a break for the mansion, Julianna switched paths, narrowly missing a deadly swing from the Hunter's claws. Opting for a better way to get farther ahead, Julianna jumped and easily cleared the top of the hedge, landing nimbly on her feet and resuming her pace. Just as she thought, the Hunter was taken off guard giving Julianna a lead.

After running for what felt like forever, Julianna finally caught sight of the mansion just ahead. A smile came to her face when she saw it. _I'm going to make it! I'm going to make it,_ she kept telling herself in her head. So focused on reassuring herself, Julianna never saw the tackle coming from behind her until it was too late. With a cry of surprise, Julianna and the Hunter both rolled until Julianna landed on her back with the Hunter right above her. Taking advantage of the situation, the Hunter set to work trying to rip her apart. Julianna got an arm up to keep its teeth at bay…

A sharp pain shot up from her arm as the razor sharp fangs ripped through it as though it were nothing. Julianna screamed in pain, using her other fist to strike at the creature's head to get it off her. Jabbing it as hard as she could in its eye, the Hunter released her arm with a pained shriek. Blood poured from her open wound as Julianna struggled to get the Hunter off of her, squirming frantically under its heavy weight. At the feel of its prey trying to escape, one of the Hunter's pointed claws stabbed her right in the thigh to stop her attempts.

'Fuck!" She screamed, agonizing pain only adding to her desperation to get away. While her arm was knitting itself back together, the Hunter, this time, bit her right in the neck, indeed in the same spot as the scars were. Her eyes opened wide, all sounds stopping abruptly. Her entire body went rigid as the Hunter continued to rip her apart, the pain worse than anything she could imagine.

 _This is it,_ she thought, her vision starting to swim from the blood loss, despite her body's best efforts to close the wounds that were being inflicted on her. _This is how I die. There's no coming back from this._ Every sound began to fade away, darkness taking her sight and dragging her into oblivion. _I don't want to die,_ was her final conscious thought before everything faded away…

* * *

'The sample of Eclipse was a fake," Oswell repeated, seated behind his desk as Wesker relayed everything he'd been told by Jenna. There were no windows inside, only a desk lamp which cast shadows over both Oswell and Wesker's faces, sharpening the red-eyed man's facial features more so than they already were. 'I see… it appears that the Advents were prepared for something like this. They surely must be laughing at what they perceive to be gullibility."

'And now we must obtain the virus by different means," Wesker continued, crossing his arms over his broad chest. 'The most that Miss Kelly was able to extract from her blood was slight traces of the virus."

'I see," Oswell muttered, bringing his hands up to rest under his chin. A thoughtful moment of silence befell both men. 'I must admit, I had hoped that this would be much simpler, but alas, nothing is ever that easy."

'Indeed," Wesker agreed. Another quiet spell passed.

'It appears then that we must come up with a solution to our problem then."

'I have one in mind," Wesker said before Oswell could say anything further. 'But it would require a sample of a different sort- her DNA."

'You intend to clone her," Oswell recognized right away.

'Precisely," Wesker concurred. The older of the two men mulled this over in his mind for a time.

'And how do you propose to clone her, apart from her DNA? It's my understanding that there is only one manner of cloning a being." Oswell pointed out. 'Efforts to clone a new life is no easy feat as well. The only successful attempt to implant genetic material was with Alexia and Alfred Ashford. You yourself saw this to be true." He paused for a moment. 'Don't get me wrong; I see the potential for this plan of yours, nor do I condemn it. But the risk of failure is much too high." Seeing the displeasure in Wesker's body language, Oswell quickly continued. 'I also have a solution to this dilemma of ours."

'I'm listening," Wesker said.

'To clone a new being could take months, even years. By the time the said being developed anything remotely close to a human form, we could have already had made one in a more conventional way." Oswell leaned back in his chair. 'If memory serves, Alexander implanted the DNA of Veronica Ashford into an embryo and implanted it into a surrogate mother. In our case, we would not need to do any of this." When Wesker said nothing, he proceeded on. 'Julianna is more than capable of producing children of her own. With her already enhanced DNA and abilities, through her, we could create a new species altogether. We'd need only to find a suitable… _donor_ for her. It's only fitting seeing as the word "advent" means "the arrival of a notable event", in this case, the arrival of a new world." Oswell didn't have to go into any more detail for Wesker to understand just what it was he was implying.

'You're suggesting that we breed a new race with her as the creator?"

'Not the creator. That right would belong to the father." Oswell clarified. 'I see her only as a contributor to said race."

'And who do you propose to _be_ the creator of this race?" Oswell merely smiled at this question, and Wesker knew without asking just who he thought should have both the right and the bragging rights that came with such a thing. _He thinks that_ he _is the one,_ Wesker thought wryly. _This arrogant old fool..._ The next words from Oswell, however, surprised him.

'Were it that I was still able to create a child, I would do so myself. After all, it's not every day one can say that they have a hybrid for a companion." Oswell grew solemn suddenly. 'As it is, the day that I will leave this world approaches quickly." His gaze turned back to Wesker, who'd walked closer to the old man's desk. 'However, I think I have the person in mind to do so in my stead." Their eyes locked, Oswell's blues and Wesker's reds concealed behind his sunglasses. 'You carry the Progenitor virus within you, and she the Eclipse virus. Imagine what could come from a being that has a combination of the two."

Wesker was not an easy person to take off guard, not by a long shot. He was cunning and intelligent in every sense of the words and had seen enough in his life that hardly anything surprised him. But when Oswell spoke these words, though he'd never say it out loud, Wesker was _slightly_ taken aback. He'd have been perfectly fine if Oswell didn't mention it out loud, but to hear him be so open about it…

Wesker's phone suddenly began beeping, bringing him out of his thoughts.

'Just a moment," he told Oswell who nodded in understanding as Wesker answered the phone. 'Yes?"

'Wesker, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have a serious problem," Jenna's voice frantically told him. Wesker inwardly groaned.

'What is it _now_?"

'We were able to locate the Hunter," Jenna began, 'But that's not the problem."

'Then what is-"

'It attacked Julianna," she finally said, her voice full of concern. 'It attacked Julianna and she's in critical condition right now." Wesker looked up to Oswell, who sensed that something was wrong. 'We have her in the lab right now, assessing her to make sure she wasn't infected with the T-Virus, but she's lost a lot of blood and it doesn't look good." Wesker sighed in exasperation; just how many more things were going to happen in one night? He couldn't remember a time that the mansion had so many things go wrong. No matter, this was one thing that he _had_ to make sure was taken care of and not because he wanted to or felt any obligation to the hybrid. He just didn't want to deal with Oswell's hissy fit if she died.

'I'll be down shortly." Wesker said, disconnecting from the call and looking to Spencer. 'We'll have to reconvene at a later time, unfortunately." He explained. 'There's been another incident with the hybrid."

'Oh?"

'The BOW that escaped earlier seems to have taken a liking to Julianna, so much so that she's now in critical condition in the lab below." Wesker explained. Not one second after he'd said that, Oswell was steering his wheelchair out from around the desk towards the door, a concerned look on his face that Wesker hadn't expected.

'She cannot be lost," Oswell said in a worried voice. 'We cannot lose the last carrier of the Eclipse virus! Whatever needs to be done in order to save her life, I will personally see to it that it's taken care of. I will _not_ lose her to the incompetence of a few scientists." He continued to prattle on as he practically broke down the door getting out of the office.

Wesker only stared after him for a moment before following him. This was most certainly a first; Oswell losing his head over a young girl? Perhaps his delusions that he was the only fit ruler of a new race ran much deeper than Wesker had thought. Despite his reservations about this new plan Oswell apparently had in mind for her, Wesker couldn't deny that the red-haired woman was indeed important. Just how important she was, however, was completely dependent on her behavior should she survive, _if_ she survived. Hunters weren't known to let their prey go unscathed. In fact, in recent tests, they proved to favor decapitating or dismembering their victims in rather interesting ways. The way that Jenna described the woman still being alive was enough for him to conclude that the Hunter hadn't beheaded the hybrid, but he was beginning to wonder if she was missing a few limbs after this ordeal.

It appeared that he would just have to find out for himself.

* * *

 **A/N-** A shorter chapter this time. Originally, it wasn't going to end like this, but I felt that it was better than what I had in mind before.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N-** What's that, Fanfiction? You want two chapters in a row? Ask and you shall receive! =D

* * *

 _Julianna…_

 _Julianna, can you hear me?_

 _Julianna, wake up…_

'Julianna," a female voice called to her, rousing the hybrid from what felt like a deep sleep. Her carmine eyes opened slowly, blinking away the blurriness and turning her head in the direction of the voice.

Sure enough, there was a female kneeling beside her, one who was no more than thirteen or fourteen at the very most. Her skin was slightly tanned and her eyes were an enchanting shade of violet, holding within them a light that was friendly and sweet as all girl children were supposed to be. She wore a simple brown dress with a white ribbon braided in her hair and an interesting necklace around her slender throat; it was an ivory impression of a woman against a black background. _A cameo_ , she realized, looking more closely at the girl. _She looks so familiar_ , Julianna thought the longer she stared her.

Red eyes looked around, realizing that she was no longer in the mansion. Instead, she appeared to be in a dwelling made entirely of stone and laying on a rather comfortable pallet with a colorful blanket covering her, the small sleeping area surrounded by a sheer red sheet. All around her, there were baskets containing belongings, neat stacks of books at the side of where she lay, and candles placed in the niches in the stone for ambient light. The smell of something delicious cooking filled her nose. The more she stared at the space around her, the more Julianna felt that she had been there before.

'Are you alright?" the girl asked her, taking one of her hands in her much smaller one. 'You haven't been sleeping well lately. Would you like me to get your favorite lavender tea? Maybe it will help you sleep better at night." Julianna was taken aback, suddenly realizing that the girl wasn't speaking in English, but yet she was able to understand her with ease.

'Who… are you?" she asked, unaware that she as well was speaking the same language as the child, who cocked her head to the right.

'Who am I?" She repeated. 'Julianna, you know who I am; I'm your little sister, Ereavia!" She giggled, an innocent sound that made Julianna smile despite herself.

'Oh," she replied. Realizing that sounded rude, she quickly added, 'Oh, right. Sorry."

'It's alright, big sister!" Ereavia replied, affectionately hugging Julianna. Taken aback for a moment, Julianna stared down at the little one, embracing her in return. _Sister… Have I a sister?_ This had to be a dream. She couldn't possibly be somewhere other than the mansion! The last thing she remembered was being attacked by the Hunter… _Am I dead?_

'Where are we, little sister?" Julianna asked, the words _little sister_ coming to her seemingly from nowhere. Ereavia made a sound and raised her head to look up at her, those beautiful violet eyes of her never losing their sparkle.

'Home," she said. 'Home in Amarant!"

'Amarant," Julianna repeated. Ereavia nodded briskly.

'You know where Amarant is, big sister," she said with a giggle. 'You're being so silly, Julianna." Ereavia released Julianna and stood up to take her hand. 'Come on! Let's go find big brother!" Julianna stood without protest, allowing the child to lead her away from the sleeping area and to the opening in the stone which allowed a bright light to come through. Julianna raised a hand to her eyes to shield them from such a light as they entered its warmth. She lowered it once her vision returned to normal, her breath being taken by what she saw before her.

It was a city, the likes of which she didn't know even existed. For as far as her eyes could see, there was a great expanse of stone with holes bored into them to serve as homes and shops for the multitude of people that she saw walking around. These continued far down below where there was a massive marketplace selling wares of different sorts ranging from household items to food. Despite obviously being underground, there were lush green trees and shrubbery down there, a massive waterfall falling down into the center which served as a place to gather water. Her eyes looked upwards, seeing larger holes in the ceiling which allowed the sun to penetrate Amarant.

Looking around, she could see that the dwelling she had been in had a stone path which led to other dwellings on either side, a stone railing in front of them to prevent anyone from falling. As they stood there, she watched as men, women and children walked around on the lower levels, all of them dressed in simple garments. Looking down at her own attire, Julianna saw that she was wearing a blue corset with a black bolero over the top of it, heather gray pants which hugged her snugly, and black boots with stormy blue embellishments on them. Her hair was flowing freely, half of it pulled back to expose her pretty face.

Men and women alike seemed to have long locks of hair in various colors, all of them with skin that glowed in the sunlight. In fact, everyone seemed to be glowing… was this what spirits looked like in the afterlife? Those that saw her smiled and waved in her direction as though they knew who she was, Ereavia excitedly waving back with a smile. Julianna returned their smiles and waves, still in awe of where she was. This couldn't be real… but it felt so familiar that she couldn't help but feel as though she were home.

'Come on, Julianna!" Ereavia called, running to the right. 'Let's find Riordan!"

'R-Right," she said, figuring out that this Riordan had to be the big brother she spoke of. Julianna followed her little sister, still looking around at her surroundings. As she passed people, they all bowed their heads reverently, smiling kindly.

'Good morning, Lady Dashara." One woman, who was sweeping her cavern out, called kindly. 'It's nice to see you again!" Julianna nodded in her direction, not understanding why she was being called "Lady". She had no time to think about it before a young man called to her from a few caverns down.

'Lady Dashara! You've returned to us!" he said, smiling broadly. 'It's so good to see that you are well. We've missed your presence here."

'It's… nice to see you as well," she replied with a small smile, not knowing who this boy or even the woman before him were in the slightest. Going along with it, Julianna simply continued to follow Ereavia who was running ahead, forcing Julianna to jog to catch up to her as they went down the winding path.

Finally, she caught up to her right outside another cavern from which emanated the smell of gunpowder and smoke. Momentarily worried, she watched as Ereavia poked her head inside at a man who was standing at a large stone table with an assortment of metal parts on top of it.

'Good morning, Haredeus!" She called to the man who had orange hair and an equally orange beard that hung down over his white shirt. The man looked up with his amber eyes and smiled broadly at the child.

'Little Ereavia! How are you, sweet child?" He called back in a booming voice, walking over to the child and patting her head.

'Very good, thank you!" Ereavia replied. 'It's been a long time since I've seen you!"

'Sweet little one, you've been here just yesterday, amusing us all with your smarts and laughter." Haredeus laughed, ruffling Ereavia's hair. Noticing Julianna standing beside Ereavia, he bowed his head respectfully to her. 'And you've brought your beautiful sister along with you! It's very good to see you, Julianna." The red eyed girl smiled in return.

'Hello Haredeus," she replied.

'Come, come!" He invited them in with a wave of his large hand. 'To what do I owe the pleasure of having the ladies of the Dashara clan in my humble shop?"

'We're looking for big brother!" Ereavia said as she and Julianna walked inside what appeared to be a gunsmith's shop. She assumed it to be so, anyways, judging by the array of firearms and knives displayed on the walls and in a large glass case in front of them. 'Have you seen him?"

'Young master Riordan, you say?" Haredeus began, stroking his long beard. 'Why yes, I believe I may have." He turned back to a doorway Julianna hadn't seen before in the back of the shop. 'Riordan, you've got visitors!"

'Just a moment," a younger man's voice called back. Not a few moments later, a tall man emerged from the archway dressed in a red shirt, brown pants, and brown boots; he was very tall and broad shouldered with black hair which hung in his eyes until a pale hand brushed them away to reveal an angular face and stormy gray eyes which lit up at the sight of the two women standing beside Haredeus.

'Big brother!" Ereavia called, running to him to be scooped up and spun around by Riordan.

'Little Ereavia!" He replied, hugging the child closely. 'How goes your day?"

'Better, now that I've seen you!" she answered with a smile. 'Big sister is finally awake." Riordan's gray eyes settled on Julianna's red orbs, a bigger smile coming to his face.

'It's about time. How long have you been out of it?" He said, coming closer to her to give her an embrace with the arm that wasn't holding Ereavia. 'It's almost noon!" Julianna couldn't help but smile with his infectious beam. _Big brother_ , her mind said. _He sure feels like a big brother to me._

'I… must have overslept," she said, not knowing anything better to say as she was enveloped by his warmth. She snuggled into his show of affection, breathing in the scent of gunpowder. Julianna's smile widened as her heart warmed. _I have a family… at least, in the afterlife._

'You have a habit of that," Riordan pointed out, releasing Julianna and taking a step back. 'You need it, though; you've been quite the night owl here recently. It's not good for you, you know."

'I don't think anyone has been sleeping well around here lately," Haredeus added. 'Have you heard the reports from above?" When none of the siblings answered, he explained. 'There's been more and more attacks on those blasted humans again by the Sangs. By the sounds of things, they're trying to hunt down us Amarant folk again and think the humans know where we are."

'When have they never tried to hunt us down?" Riordan asked. 'The humans have said that they've found us before and it was proven false, obviously, since we're all still walking around perfectly fine. I'm sure that in this case, it's no different."

'Aye, I hope they are just that. That's the very last thing any of us Advents need are humans or Sangs sniffing us out." Haredeus concurred. Julianna's interest was piqued at the word Advents. _I'm… among the Advents,_ she thought. _I thought they were extinct?_

She was even more convinced that this was indeed the afterlife, after all.

'I'd rather have Sangs, to be honest," Riordan said, putting Ereavia down so that she could run out to one of the balconies which must have served as a garden to play with the other children who'd gathered there. 'At least, they aren't hunting us down in a desperate attempt to stay immortal. I suppose though that when one thinks about it, they are both after the same thing."

'Blood," Julianna and Haredeus said at the same time. They shared a comradely smile before Haredeus spoke up again.

'Well, as long as we have your mother and her band of hunters around, we won't have anything to worry about." He said. 'We'll be well protected from anything that comes our way, human or Sang. Right, Julianna?"

Julianna tried to reply, but no words came from her lips. No, the peace that was this beautiful place was slowly fading away from her. Julianna tried to reach out to Riordan, but her hand went straight through him as though he were a ghost. Twice more she reached out, calling out his name before everything was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

* * *

'…almost two liters of blood, but it looks like her regenerative abilities are still working. By morning, everything should be closed up and you'll never be able to tell what happened."

'Has she been infected?"

'No, thank God. Her blood work came back completely normal. Even if it hadn't, if she'd been infected, we'd know right away."

'But she'll live?"

'She'll be in a bit of pain when she wakes up, but that should go away quickly. I have to say, she's very lucky to be alive. If Trent and the others hadn't come out when they heard the screaming, I don't think she'd have lasted much longer. But yes, she'll make a full recovery once her transfusion is finished."

Julianna's head turned towards the female voice which sounded so far away, having a hard time opening her eyes this time. She took a deep breath, something which was cut short by a pain which racked her ribs. A hand came to her shoulder when she tried to sit up.

'Easy Julianna, just lay down. You're alright," the woman said. Julianna did as she was bid, her eyes finally opening as three figures looking down at her faded into view.

'Ereavia? Little sister?" she said, still speaking the same language she had before.

'What did she say?" A harsh male voice asked, her vision clearing long enough to make out the shape of black sunglasses and blonde hair. _Wesker,_ she realized. A sinking feeling in her stomach formed as everything else became clearer. Her nose was assaulted by the smell of antiseptics, alcohol and… blood? A familiar face peered down into hers, a confused look plastered on it.

'I… I don't know," Jenna said, a strange light coming to her eyes. 'It didn't sound like any language I've ever heard before." She must be a little disoriented." Julianna blinked her eyes a couple of times, trying to clear her head as best that she could.

'Do you remember what happened?" Jenna asked, causing Julianna's red eyes to look at her again. She didn't know why, but under this light, she looked so familiar… so much like Ereavia.

'No…" was all she could mutter, a hand raising up to her head only to bump against something plastic over her nose and mouth. A confused sound came passed from her lips, not knowing or understanding just what it was. She didn't get that much of a chance to exam it when Jenna gently raised Julianna's head so that she could remove it and put it off to the side.

'What was she doing outside the mansion in the first place?" Wesker's annoyed voice came, causing Julianna's head to roll over in his direction. Was that _displeasure_ she heard in his voice? A loud cough from her left made Julianna's head move in the opposite direction.

'I do believe that I was the one who said she was free to go where she pleased provided the doors were not locked or beyond the gated area," Oswell's voice began, his blue eyes locking with Julianna's reds. She was momentarily surprised to see concern within them. 'The garden is well within these boundaries."

'Did she not know that there was a Hunter loose?" Wesker argued. Both men suddenly looked at Jenna, who was visibly uncomfortable with the turn of events. 'Did you tell her what was going on?"

'I… I told her the bare minimum, but not that the B.O.W was still wandering around," the young girl replied. 'I assumed that-"

'How many times have I told you all what happens when you assume?" Wesker snapped. 'Were you too stupid to _look_ for the Hunter rather than carry on your day as though nothing happened?"

'I- It was a mistake, I'll admit it. It won't happen again." Jenna replied, bowing her head down. Julianna could tell by looking at her that she wanted to say something else, but didn't dare to.

'I don't believe it was anyone's fault that the B.O.W. wasn't located sooner," Oswell chimed in. 'Hunters move especially fast, after all. No matter, what's done is done. Miss Dashara is alive and the Hunter has been killed. There's no need to continue throwing salt into the wound." He did give Jenna a serious look. 'I do expect, however, that in the future this does not happen again."

'It won't, Mr. Spencer," Jenna promised.

'Also, Miss Kelly, I would see you better warn our guest of the dangers of wandering too far from the mansion, unarmed at that."

'Yes, Mr. Spencer." She paused momentarily. 'Mr. Spencer, if I may, I believe that it's in Julianna's best interest to be given her weapons back in the unlikely event that something like this happens again."

'No," Wesker said right away. 'To give the hybrid those guns would be akin to throwing kerosene into an open flame."

'Perhaps, but without them her life would be in danger again if-"

'I said no, and that's final!" Wesker retorted sharply. Jenna quieted herself immediately, biting her lower lip so hard Julianna almost saw blood. Oswell watched this exchange before he piped up yet again.

'On the contrary, I believe Miss Kelly has a point," he said. 'I'd not see something like this occur a second time. Miss Dashara is much too valuable to lose to the actions of a rogue test subject." Wesker's jaw tightened, betraying how angry he was getting. 'Once she has recovered, see to it that those which rightfully belong to her are returned. I see no reason why she can't be trusted with them."

'I _disagree_ ," Wesker muttered, his dangerous stare locking on Julianna's face. Weakened as she was, Julianna couldn't bring herself to really give him one back. Just barely raising a finger was difficult enough.

Her vision swam suddenly, and everything faded into black.

* * *

 **A/N-** FINALLY! I get to insert some elements from my novel! *happy dance* This chapter originally wasn't going to have the scene with Julianna back in Amarant, but it seemed like any time I tried to put something else in there, it didn't sound right. Hopefully it turned out good. =)

Please continue to review and follow the story! You guys are awesome!


	9. Chapter 9

In and out of consciousness Julianna drifted, never staying awake for very long. Somewhere during her time awake, she was aware of people coming in and out of the medical ward where they were currently keeping her, heard them whispering about how she should be dead rather than alive. Once or twice, she could have sworn that she heard Jenna talking, but each time she tried to keep her eyes open, they would just fall back down plunging her into unrelenting darkness.

Those were the times when she would find herself back in Amarant with Ereavia and Riordan, following them wherever they went in the underground city. Morning, afternoon, and evening they would roam the city, interacting with the Advents and other hybrids that were there. No matter who she met, it always seemed that they knew her for her entire life even though she was positive that she had never met any of them. But when she betrayed that she wasn't sure who they were, they'd all laugh it off as her being silly.

 _Why do I keep coming here,_ she caught herself wondering often. _Is it somehow linked to my past?_ It wouldn't surprise her if it was. After all, they _were_ Advents and hybrids all living together peacefully and the fact that she always felt that she belonged there was enough to make her think that this indeed was where she came from in the first place. Julianna tried multiple times to talk about it, but as was the nature of dreams, she never was able to.

She must have spent eternity like this, fighting to come back to the real world, whichever one it was. Julianna had had so many dreams of Amarant that were so real and vivid that she was almost positive that it was the real world and the Spencer estate was nothing more than a nightmare.

One night, she managed to open her eyes completely for the first time, noticing that she was no longer in the medical ward, but back in the room that Oswell had called her own. Red eyes stared at the midnight blue canopy above her, trying to shake off the urge to go back to sleep. Julianna's head rolled to the left, seeing someone sitting in a chair close by her bedside.

'Welcome back," Jenna said, smiling broadly. 'How do you feel?"

'Alright, I guess," Julianna replied sleepily.

'That's a relief to hear," Jenna admitted, sitting back in her chair. 'You had me worried. You've been out of it for almost a week."

'A week?" Julianna answered in a shocked voice, trying to sit up before Jenna gently eased her back down.

'Easy, Julianna, don't sit up too fast." Jenna cautioned her, grabbing another pillow and putting it behind Julianna's head. 'You've still got some recovering to do."

'What do you mean?"

'You don't remember?" Jenna asked. 'You were attacked by a Hunter while you were out in the garden. Were it not for Trent and a couple others finding you, you and I wouldn't be talking right now."

'Oh," Julianna replied, memories of said event flooding into her mind. 'Now I remember."

'Speaking of remembering," the raven-haired girl mentioned, sitting back down. 'Who is Ereavia?"

'What?"

'You called her name in your sleep," Jenna elucidated. 'It wasn't very loud, but enough for me to hear it more than once. I was just curious as to who she was." Julianna was quiet for a time.

'She's a little girl that came to me in my dream," Julianna explained finally. 'She called me "big sister". There was another person too… a man named Riordan. They both said that they were my brother and sister."

'Where were you?"

'We were in an underground city called Amarant," the red-eyed woman replied. She went into detail about what she'd seen, how there had been so many Advents and hybrids and even how she felt as though she'd come home. Jenna listened intently, her bright eyes wide and curious. When Julianna was finished, she sat there for several minutes, absorbing everything she'd been told.

'Amarant is not a city of dreams," she said. 'It was a real place." Julianna's interest was piqued.

'It was?"

'Yes. It was one of the biggest Advent cities in the world," Jenna got up to sit cross-legged on Julianna's bed. 'When the humans began to hunt them down, the Advents built massive underground cities to stay away from them. No one knew they existed until archeologists found evidence of some of their homes deep in caverns below the surface. They were so self-sufficient that all the Advents living there were almost a utopian society with no crime or wars. They wanted to live separately from the human race so much so that, despite being humans in the past, the Advents went so far as to create their own language and alphabet called Adamantine."

'So… Amarant was a real place," Julianna surmised. 'If that's the case and I'm dreaming about it…"

'It _has_ to mean that that was where you were from originally," Jenna finished. 'It's long been an accepted fact that when people have lost their memories, they tend to recall them when they are dreaming. You _have_ to keep thinking about Amarant, Julianna. It may be the only way for you to get your memories back!"

'But how? I can't think about it all the time," Julianna pointed out. Jenna considered this for a moment before standing up.

'Wait here! I'll be right back," Jenna said, running towards the door and disappearing. She was gone for no more than two minutes before coming back, closing the door behind her and jumping back onto Julianna's bed excitedly. Before Julianna could ask what she got, Jenna deposited a box wrapped up in pretty foil paper with a blue ribbon tied around it. Red eyes looked from the box to Jenna in confusion.

'It's a present!" The young girl said, practically bouncing around happily. 'Open it up!" Julianna nodded and did as she was bid, carefully unwrapping the bow and tearing open the paper to find an ornate black lacquered box with an Emperor Blue butterfly engraved on the top. She ran her hands over it, wondering at the smoothness.

'Jenna, it's beautiful," Julianna said, a smile coming to her face. 'Thank you."

'That's not all!" Jenna said, pointing out that the box had a hinged lid. 'Open it!" Julianna laughed quietly and did so, her breath catching in her throat at what she saw laying inside. Her hand reached in and pulled out a blue journal with bullfinches and cherry blossoms embossed upon it, silver accents making it shine prettily. Right beside the place where it had been was a fountain pen that was also blue with her name engraved on it.

'Now you can think about it!" Jenna exclaimed. 'Anytime you remember something, you can write about it in your journal and keep it safe inside the box! You'll never have to be afraid of forgetting it again." Julianna sat there for a long time, admiring the gifts that Jenna had so thoughtfully given her. She raised her head, looking into Jenna's doe-like eyes with a big smile on her face. The fact that this young woman was so eager to help her and so sweet as to bring her such beautiful presents was beyond touching, almost bringing a tear to her eye.

'…Thank you, Jenna," Julianna said in a quiet voice. 'Thank you so much." Jenna smiled in return, hesitated for a moment, then came forward to embrace the hybrid girl. Julianna was taken aback for a minute, having not expected this, but returned the embrace nonetheless. As she did, however, the oddest sensation of déjà vu came over her. She didn't know why, but Julianna felt something familiar about… Jenna? She looked down at the girl, and for a moment, she could have sworn that she saw Ereavia looking back at her. But no, that wasn't possible. Ereavia was gone, gone with Riordan and gone with the Advents in her dreams. Even if she were still here, Julianna doubted that they would even recognize one another.

Realizing that Julianna's grip upon her had slackened, Jenna drew away. Julianna, in turn, released her without protest, pushing Ereavia out of her mind as well. The two women sat in silence until they were interrupted by a single knock on the door, which opened to reveal Oswell who wasted no time in rolling himself into Julianna's room.

'Good, you are awake at last!" he said, his voice relieved. Julianna curbed the urge to roll her eyes at the tone of his voice. 'You gave us all quite a fright." _I'm sure I did for someone who's only interested in becoming immortal_ , she wanted to say but didn't. 'How are you feeling?"

'…Good, I guess," Julianna muttered, kicking herself for answering him. Oswell smiled at this, coming to the side of her bed and stopping there. She inwardly groaned; obviously, he was planning on staying there for a while.

'I'm very happy that you are alive and well, Miss Dashara, and I apologize highly that such an incident occurred. That will never happen again, I swear it," he vowed. Julianna wanted to laugh at this. Did he really think that she cared what he felt or thought? Besides, what could he do to ensure it wouldn't happen again? _He_ was stuck in a wheelchair. _She_ was perfectly able to take care of herself. _Except, this time, you were almost killed._ She blinked at that. _It was Wesker's fault for taking my guns._

'No, it won't," another male voice called from the doorway. This time, Julianna _narrowly_ avoided rolling her eyes. _Speak of the devil, and he will come._ 'We've made amendments to the handling procedures for B.O.W.s as you requested, Mr. Spencer," Wesker said, walking into the room to stand beside Oswell. Noticing that Julianna was sitting up, he turned his head to her. 'So it's true; you're _still_ alive." Julianna bristled at this.

'Yes, I _am_ ," she replied in the same tone Wesker had spoken. 'Sorry if I disappointed you." The blonde man visibly stiffened at this but otherwise didn't betray any other emotions.

'Your loss would have been felt greatly if you hadn't," Oswell said quickly to prevent any arguing between Wesker and Julianna. 'You are very important to the work we are doing, Miss Dashara." Julianna and Jenna shared a sideways look. Noticing Jenna, Oswell addressed her next.

'Miss Kelly, has Miss Dashara's blood work come back normal?"

'Yes, Mr. Spencer," Jenna replied. 'Everything is perfectly fine. There are no signs of the T-Virus in her system." Julianna looked at her in confusion. _T-Virus… what is that?_

'Good, very good," Oswell replied, clearly pleased with the news. 'Then there should be no further problems provided we have no repeat performances of what happened a week ago." He gave Julianna a strange smile, one which sent up several red flags for Julianna. 'I'll leave you to rest for the rest of the night, Miss Dashara. If you are feeling up to it tomorrow, you may accompany Miss Kelly to the lab again just to make sure that everything is as it should be." Julianna gave a curt nod as Oswell turned his chair around and exited the room, leaving Julianna and Jenna alone with Wesker, who hadn't moved an inch. Julianna didn't like that. It was bad enough that she was getting more than a bad vibe from that look Oswell had given her. She most certainly didn't need Wesker coming in to start his shit with her. She wasn't sure she'd be able to refrain from trying to kill him again.

'Miss Kelly," he said after a moment.

'Yes, Wesker?" Jenna replied.

'Leave the hybrid and myself alone for a moment." He ordered. Julianna looked at him and then at Jenna, not understanding what this was about. Jenna shared a look with her before rising and doing as she was bid. 'And close the door behind you."

'Yes, Wesker," the raven-haired girl answered. Before she closed the door, she looked at Julianna with a worried look in her eyes before it closed gently, leaving Julianna alone with Wesker.

'Do you realize how fortunate you are to still be alive?" Wesker asked her, never losing that cold tone with her. Julianna inwardly sighed and leaned back against her pillows.

'Yes, I am," she answered. 'I've heard about it nonstop since I woke up." Her red eyes narrowed as she looked at him. 'For what reason is it that you've brought it up again?"

'You are the only person I've seen that's been able to be mauled by a Hunter and live to tell the tale," he said simply. 'I'm only curious as to what you were doing so far from the mansion in the first place." Julianna gave him a strange look. _How did he know I was-_ 'You don't seem to catch on that there are cameras all over the mansion. Or, perhaps you do know and you thought that the garden was the only place where there _weren't_ any."

'I have no idea what you're even talking about." Julianna replied, suspicious as to where this was going.

'Well, now you _do_ , and your little-attempted escape attempt didn't go unnoticed." Wesker said in a suspicious tone. _Oh, so_ that's _what this is about,_ Julianna thought in annoyance.

'That had crossed my mind, yes," Julianna began. _No use in lying about it._ 'But no, I wasn't _trying_ to escape. I merely was curious as to where the wall led before your little creation decided to attack me." He cocked his head to the right slightly, almost as though he were trying to figure out if she were lying. Even if she were, Julianna didn't doubt that he would know.

'You are either very brave or very foolish." He said finally.

'The latter yes, but I'm not foolish like the humans you associate yourself with." Julianna replied, looking away from him in favor of staring off into space.

'And what would you happen to know of that?"

'You think that by using fear to control them, you will get them to do a better job at whatever it is all of you are doing down in that lab," Julianna explained. 'But fear can only get you so far before you cause a rebellion amongst them. It's better to keep them guessing what your reaction would be to certain mistakes." Her red eyes looked back at him for her next words. 'The fear of uncertainty is much more effective than fear itself." Wesker said nothing for a long moment.

'Observant of you," he noted. Julianna shrugged.

'You can learn much about a person just by watching them," she answered.

'How would you know that I control by fear if you've only seen me a few times?"

'I don't need to watch you in order to know how you run things. My sight is well enough that I can see and my hearing is sharp enough so that I can hear the heartbeats of those who come near you. You frighten the majority of people to the point they avoid you in the same way one would a plague." Julianna described. When Wesker moved to one end of her bed to lean against the post, she knew without asking that he was interested in hearing more. _He must think I'm stroking his ego,_ she concluded.

'Interesting," he said. 'You're obviously smarter than what I originally thought."

'Is that why you've not killed me yet?"

'I still could, if that's what you want," Wesker answered back. 'But I may have a use for someone as smart as you." This time, Julianna couldn't stop her eyes from rolling as she looked off to the side.

'Isn't that your overall prerogative?" Julianna sarcastically asked. 'You and Oswell use me to suit whatever needs you have and then put a bullet in my skull when you're done?"

'Such a negative way of seeing things," Wesker chided, pushing his sunglasses up on his nose. 'Do you ever listen to yourself sometimes?"

'Seeing as I've only been awake from my hibernation for a short amount of time, no, I haven't had the opportunity to do so." Julianna answered, looking back at him to study his face for a moment. 'Since you've been asking so many questions, I have one of my own."

'Which is?"

'Why do you constantly wear sunglasses?" she asked simply. Wesker just stared at her.

'Why are you so curious about me?"

'That was going to be my next question, but going back to mine, I'm _curious_ because it's clear that you aren't a human. Obviously you don't want anyone to look at your eyes because of being inhuman. Besides," Julianna noted. 'You have a different scent than they do."

'And what scent might that be?"

'The one of death that is constantly lingering around humans," she illuminated. 'They smell like death because they are decaying. Not visibly, of course. You are different; there's something about you which alludes to your abilities. Any normal human wouldn't have been able to dodge bullets or move as you do."

'Again, very observant of you," Wesker spoke. 'You are correct; I'm not human, not anymore."

'Then you are as I am?" Julianna realized. 'Infected with a virus which gives you these abilities?"

'In a sense," Wesker confirmed. 'But unlike you, I wasn't born with a virus. I gave it to myself." Julianna was taken aback. _He_ gave _himself a virus… for what reason?_ She must have said that out loud.'Perhaps one day, when I've decided if you are trustworthy enough, I'll tell you all about the reason why I gave myself the T-Virus."

'Why do I get the sense that that won't be happening anytime soon?" Julianna muttered, more to herself than to Wesker, who didn't even seem to notice. A short silence came upon both nonhumans until Wesker decided that he'd heard and said enough to her. He pushed himself off the bedpost and walked towards her door.

'You should heed the advice of Mr. Spencer," He called over his shoulder. 'You're of no use to me if you're not at full health." Julianna watched him go to the door only to stop and turn back in her direction. 'And, if you would be so inclined, do not _ever_ seek to question as to why I do what I wish."

'…Very well, _Wesker_ ," Julianna answered as he opened the door and disappeared out of it. Not but a moment afterward, Jenna peered back inside. Her head first looked at the retreating Wesker and then back to Julianna who had an exhausted expression on her face.

'What was that all about?" Jenna asked, coming back into the room and closing the door.

'Apparently, he was in the mood to talk to me for whatever reason," Julianna answered, rolling her eyes.

'That's weird," Jenna noted. 'You're the first person he's talked to for more than ten minutes, cordially at that."

'Cordially isn't the word I would use to describe it." Julianna said. 'More or less, he was either trying to see what he could use against me in the future or he was interested in the fact that I was unknowingly stroking his ego."

'Curiosity has me," Jenna admitted, picking up Julianna's box and setting it on her nightstand. Julianna gave her a knowing smile.

'Well, you might want to sit down, because there's a lot to tell."

'I'm all ears!" Jenna laughed, sitting down on Julianna's bed again as the hybrid began her recantation of what happened between her and Wesker.

* * *

 **A/N-** It's about damn time Julianna and Wesker interact with each other. Now that they are on speaking terms (if you can even call it that), we can start getting into some of the reasons this story is M in the first place. I'll leave you to wonder what's gonna go down in the next few chapters ;)


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N-** I highly apologize for the delay in this chapter. I caught a pretty nasty cold and was knocked out for quite some time. Thankfully I'm over it now!

This is super short, and again, I apologize, but I figured that it was more than time to get Julianna near Wesker without fighting or being all passive aggressive. Hopefully it all worked out. ^-^;

 **7/27/16- Added a little tidbit with Jenna and some others to progress the story some more. Chapter 11 will be up soon!**

* * *

Julianna sighed as she leaned against the hard stone railing on the terrace, looking out at the garden, melancholy heavy upon her. Night had just fallen over the mansion, but it was pleasantly warm outside so much so that Julianna had for-went wearing any jackets or long sleeve shirts. Instead, she'd donned a bright blue blouse which hung off her shoulders and black jeans as well as a comfortable pair of what Jenna called tennis shoes. All of her articles were part of a massive amount of clothes that Jenna had bought for her when it was decided that the clothes in the armoire were just unsuited for her. Julianna had insisted that she didn't need to buy her anything, but Jenna had insisted even more so, claiming that it wasn't her money she was spending. Julianna guessed that Oswell had a hand in the matter.

Speaking of the old man, anytime she had seen him over the past month that had passed, he tried to engage her in conversation; a conversation that she neither wanted nor had any desire to take part in. Julianna would give short answers, hoping to discourage anymore talking. But he was persistent in his attempts to do so, sometimes catching her when she least expected it. Julianna wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up the cool civility around him.

While she and Oswell remained at odds, Julianna and Jenna grew closer. Despite her original suspicions as to where Jenna stood on either side of the board, now Julianna realized that she was wrong the entire time. Jenna was exactly as she appeared to be; a sweet girl that was almost reminiscent of a sister, mostly because of how she would listen to Jenna rant when she was frustrated or to listen to stories she told of her time in college. But their activities weren't just limited to those.

Once she was well enough to get out of bed, albeit still feeling the effects of having lost nearly all of her blood, Julianna and Jenna had fallen into a mind-numbing routine; at eight o'clock sharp, the two women would have breakfast, then would be in Jenna's office doing anything from research to memory tests until twelve to pause for lunch, then back to the lab until six when they'd have dinner and then retire to their own activities. Thanks to Julianna giving Jenna a hand in her office, the young girl suddenly had a lot of time on her hands which she would spend with other researchers when they weren't around one another.

She'd tried to get Julianna to come with her and socialize, but the hybrid was just not up for it. It wasn't that she didn't think that it was a good idea to talk to others and learn more about the unfamiliar world that lay just outside these walls. Rather, Julianna just didn't like the idea of being around humans. In fact, she didn't like it so much that every night before bed, she'd scrub the ever living hell out of herself in the shower just to remove that decaying scent that she hated so much. _I don't like their kind,_ Julianna had decided one night when she'd finished torturing herself in the bath. _I'll never be able to get this smell off of me if I don't get away from them soon._

Julianna sighed again at this; getting away was becoming more and more difficult the longer she looked for ways to escape. After Wesker had told her about the cameras all over the mansion, she'd become more aware of where they were and what she was doing in front of them. She didn't know where _all_ of them were, or even if there were cameras in her own room, but Julianna had been able to find at least fifteen on the way down to the lab: three in the elevator leading down; two outside it; and ten in the long hall that led to Jenna's office. _Why do they need so many, I wonder?_ They were obviously worried about security that much was for certain. She still wasn't fully aware of what it was they were doing down there anyways, but Julianna had a sneaky suspicion that it wasn't making medicine.

What kind of pharmaceutical company kept creatures like the Hunter and zombies in cages?

A breeze blew gently as Julianna continued her watch over the garden. She'd come out here for an escape, just a moment of peace, to get away from the humans for as long as she could. But all she'd managed to do so far was think about said humans who were inside socializing no doubt. A pang of pain to her heart came at the thought of that. Julianna had watched the humans before, watched as they walked together talking, laughing, being free to enjoy one another's company despite their stressful work environment. Hell, one day she'd seen a male and female outside in the garden, laughing and talking. Those two actions stopped when they shared an intimate embrace, then a kiss that seemed to last for an eternity. Julianna knew it was wrong to spy, but deep inside herself though she'd never outright admit it, she felt… _lonely_ , seeing them enjoy that which had been denied to her _._

Perhaps that was the real reason she avoided the humans; not dislike, but jealousy of what they had. They could spend time together with a significant other of the same species as they, enjoying each other's warmth and experiencing that which she didn't- happiness. It hurt her, despite herself, to see such things. She wanted that same connection, that warmth, that happiness. But it was impossible; Julianna was the last of her kind, the last of the Advent Sang hybrids. Not a single being who shared her blood that she could connect with, be warm and happy with still lived.

 _Time is infinitely cruel,_ Julianna realized, looking up at the full moon that was above her. The lunar light cast itself over the entire garden, giving everything a glow. So engrossed in observing everything, she never realized that she was no longer alone until a familiar voice called out to her.

'I'd have expected you to be with Miss Kelly than to be outside all on your own," Wesker said, causing Julianna to look at him over her shoulder. 'You're practically inseparable nowadays."

'Not truly," Julianna replied, looking back out to the garden. 'She has better things to do than stay near me for hours on end." She glanced back him briefly. 'And what of yourself? I thought you would be lingering around Oswell. You two are almost inseparable as well."

'I don't _need_ to be attached to _anyone_ ," Wesker said, coming up to stand beside Julianna. 'I only associate with someone when it suits my needs." Julianna's red eyes looked over to him at this.

'I see," she said. 'So you value both independence and solitude." His red eyes looked at her from the corner of his sunglasses.

'Observant, as always," he muttered, more to himself than Julianna as he looked away. Julianna, in turn, averted her eyes as well. 'I'd expect nothing less from you."

'That's new. I was beginning to think that the only thing that you expected from me was obedience and civility," Julianna retorted, turning her head to the left to avoid meeting his eyes again.

'I still do," Wesker answered. 'Though my list of expectations are ever expanding with each passing day."

'Indeed," Julianna said, not really knowing what he meant by that. A tense silence befell them.

'What _are_ you doing outside?" Wesker finally said, giving Julianna a look which she returned.

'A moment of silence, if you will," Julianna spoke truthfully. 'I don't get much of that anymore, not with humans walking around."

'And yet you don't seem to mind being in the company of Jenna who is, as we both know, a human." Wesker noted.

'She's not like the others," Julianna admitted. 'The others have that decaying scent around them, but she does not. I'm still trying to understand the reason why."

'I still find myself interested in how you know someone isn't human just by smell alone."

'I don't know any more than you do, Wesker. It all comes with the territory of being a hybrid, I suppose." Julianna stated. 'Were it not that I was immortal, I would probably have the same scent as they. Though I doubt we'd be talking if I were human."

'And why would you think that?" Wesker voiced. Julianna didn't answer for a moment.

'Because to not be an everlasting creature would make one a mortal, doomed at the very beginning to return to death sooner or later. Therefore, if I wasn't a hybrid, I would have long since been dead and buried two hundred years ago." She paused. 'Perhaps it's for the best."

'Best? For what?" Wesker asked.

'To live and die, to be free to choose to embrace that today cannot be taken back and tomorrow is never promised. Living with everything exceeded to the absolute fullest and never leave this world feeling like you've missed out… whereas someone like me must remain constant in the world, watching it bloom, die, and bloom again. Those are the ones doomed to live a repetitive life to the point they no longer want to live and wish to die."

'On the contrary, immortality is a gift," Wesker argued. 'Death and time become meaningless and the world becomes reborn in your eyes as you realize there is nothing holding you back for something greater than what you once were."

'It's not much of a gift if you didn't ask for it to begin with," Julianna said simply. 'That's why I don't understand why anyone would want Eclipse if the mortality rate is so high. Why give up the chance to live as you please all for a living death that I and those who came before me embody?"

'Perhaps it's all just a matter of perspective," Wesker began. 'You see it as a curse whereas others would see it as a blessing."

'Perhaps," Julianna agreed. 'But if the Advents and Sangs were immortal, they would still be here instead of dying out for whatever reason they did. Maybe they finally tired of hiding, or maybe they took their own lives. Whatever the case, their death could be seen as evidence that there is no such thing as an immortal."

'You make a valid point." Wesker admitted after a moment. A solemn silence befell them both, each contemplating what had just been said before Julianna broke the silence once more.

'Does he know what he's getting himself into, I wonder?" When Wesker looked in her direction with what she perceived to be confusion, she clarified, 'Oswell. Does he know that there is a chance that no one will ever truly understand Eclipse and what it can do to a person?"

'Are you saying that it is impossible to study?"

'Not at all; everything is indeed possible. But Eclipse isn't a normal virus by any means." Julianna turned in his direction. 'Even if Eclipse is fully understood and methods to control it are created, the end result will always be the same; those infected will either live, die, or become a monster." She looked out to the garden again. 'I don't understand why anyone would want such a vicious cycle to continue on at the expense of the extinction of the human race." Wesker turned to face her, resting one hand on the railing in front of them.

'Would that not be for the best?" Wesker questioned. 'If they all died, those who survived would be able to create a new world in their image. They would abandon their humanity for power that would make them supreme beings, ultimate lifeforms."

'Suppose that were to happen," Julianna mentioned. 'Suppose everyone became as my mother was; an Advent. Since they gave up their humanity for power, all would be good and well for a while, yes. But when everyone is powerful, some will choose to be humbled by their gifts while others would become hungry for more power thus becoming corrupt. Chaos would erupt among the two, ruining the order effectively."

'And in the midst of chaos, those who are truly able to rule the new world will rise to end it."

'True, but chaos cannot create order. It will still, in the end, be a cycle which will continue on- there will be peace, then war, then peace again, and on and on it will continue until they consume one another. Then all the work to create the new world, all the sacrifices that were made to ensure the survival of the fittest will all have been for nothing." They locked eyes with one another after this, neither really knowing what else to say but both silently agreeing that each had brought up valid points even if their pride would not allow them to admit it.

'You're quite a philosophical one, Miss Dashara," Wesker finally said.

'Should I take that as a compliment or as another thing to improve upon?" Julianna asked.

'I'm simply stating the obvious," he added. 'It's a change from the usual that I hear from others." Julianna's curiosity was piqued.

'There are no others who have such conversations here?" She asked. 'I would think that there would be at least a few as most appear to have been well educated."

'There are," Wesker confirmed. 'But they are too interested in achieving a higher position or sucking up to the right people to get ahead in their short lives." He started to say something else but was cut off by the beeping of his phone. Julianna inwardly groaned; just what was the allure humans had to those little things? She just couldn't understand why they seemed to have an umbilical cord attached to them and their cell phones.

'What is it?" he began. Whoever it was, it sounded like another female on the other line. Going against her initial thought of listening in, Julianna turned back towards the garden surveying it once again for the millionth time and leaving Wesker to his conversation. He carried on for a good five minutes, speaking as though Julianna was not there. She wondered if it was because it wasn't a confidential call or if he just didn't care if she heard everything. The idea that he could possibly trust her never surfaced in her mind.

Only when Wesker ended the call did she look back at him, seeing the way he pinched the bridge of his nose, mumbling something to himself about how unreliable humans were. _Isn't that the truth,_ her mind concurred.

'I have something to attend to," he said, replacing the phone from whence it came.

'Of course," Julianna replied, looking away. 'Your work is never done, it seems."

'Indeed," Wesker replied. Juliana was taken aback, having not expected him to actually agree with her. But that was nothing compared to his next actions; for reasons she'll never be able to guess, he walked towards her rather than towards the door, coming so close that Julianna could do little more than freeze in anticipation for an act of violence against her. To her surprise, no such thing happened. Instead, Wesker stopped just inches away from her, bending his head down to speak in her ear.

'I'd like to continue this conversation at a later time," he said, his breath wafting over her ear and causing her skin to break out in goosebumps, her own breath caught in her throat by his close proximity. 'Preferably indoors at a time where there are no interruptions." With that, he moved away, his hand brushing against hers as he went. Jolts of electricity went through her at the contact, intensifying the cold chills she was receiving. Only when Wesker was gone from the terrace did she move to lean against the railing, releasing the breath she didn't remember holding.

'Holy shit," Julianna whispered, running a hand through her hair. Now _that_ was certainly different. She had expected him to walk off as he usually did, but not to get _that_ close for no apparent reason. _He could have told me that from where he was standing originally,_ Julianna thought. The fact that he'd come within inches of her was a shock in and of itself. 'What was that all about?" she asked herself, trying to make her body stop quivering. _I don't like this... he's not trustworthy in the very slightest. So don't even think about it-_ She stopped. _Think about what?_ Julianna's cheeks flushed all the sudden when she realized what _it_ really was.

'Oh hell no," She quickly said. 'Not even if he was the last man on Earth. Not like I'd have a chance in hell, at that." _A guy like him probably has girls fighting just to even_ have _such an opportunity…_

'Shut up," Julianna muttered, her blush intensifying. 'I don't want those images in my head." Realizing that it was only going to get worse, Julianna resolved to leave the outdoors and go back to her room for the night. A shower was most certainly in order. And maybe some writing and reading, just to make sure that said images never manifested again.

It couldn't be that hard anyways.

* * *

Jenna pressed herself against the wall by the window as hard as she could when she saw Wesker walking away, clutching her phone to her chest in an absolute death grip. She didn't know why, but judging by the way Wesker had ended the call, Jenna had a deep gut feeling that he knew that she'd been watching him with Julianna. In all honesty, she really didn't know what else to do. She may have jumped the gun, but…

'It was a necessary risk," she told herself, moving further away from her window until she was standing right by her bed. 'The farther he is from Julianna, the better."

'You know we're playing a dangerous game, don't you?" came a female voice from her bathroom. Brown eyes slid to its direction, spying two figures hiding within.

'I know," Jenna affirmed. 'You both can come out now. It's safe."

'Good," said a male, practically pushing past the other female to get out. His tall frame entered the light which shined off his piercing green eyes and darkened his already dark brown hair even more so. _Trent_ , Jenna recognized. The other female was shorter with spiky blonde hair and hazel eyes. _Reagan._ 'I presume it's done?"

'Yes," Jenna said. 'He's gone now."

'I'm sensing a but," Reagan piped up, sitting down beside her. Jenna turned her head in her direction before dropping her gaze to the floor.

'How much longer can we do this?" she asked. 'How much longer can we avoid the inevitable?"

'If you mean the inevitability that we're all going to be six feet under if the wrong person finds out about us, then I hope no time soon." Trent admitted, pushing his wire framed glasses farther up his nose. 'And we all know what's going to happen when that day comes, should it ever."

'I meant lying to Julianna about all of us." Jenna snapped. 'She's lost in a world that's no longer her own with no one to relate to. We can't keep her in the dark forever, you know!"

'If we reveal the truth now, it'll just make her even more confused and blow our cover. I don't know about all of you, but I'd rather stay breathing as long as I can," Reagan mediated, putting her hand on Jenna's shoulder. 'Besides, we need to buy your friend enough time to get in position. We can't afford another failure like last time."

'And we can't _afford_ Wesker or Oswell getting into Julianna's head and turning her over to their cause," Jenna argued. 'The longer she's here, the more of a chance they have to turn her against all that she is for good."

'Yes, but it also allows for us to gather the rest together should the worst come to pass." Reagan pointed out. A silence befell the trio. 'Look, there were eight of us. The first five did what they could to turn Julianna over to those who would protect her and were killed because of it. Now there's just us. If someone found out about this, we wouldn't stand a chance against a group of USS soldiers."

'Even if we did hold out, there's no way the others would get here in time to back us up. Our numbers are getting smaller and smaller every day." Trent spoke.

'…Then there's only one option left," Jenna realized aloud. 'We need to find the BSAA." Both Reagan and Trent gasped collectively.

'Are you _insane_?" Trent cried. 'Do you have any idea what would happen if you did that?"

'Jenna, it's too dangerous! Umbrella has our phones tapped!" Reagan agreed.

'Would you rather sit here and do nothing?" Jenna said stubbornly. 'If we continue with the inaction, we'll all be dead and they will win. They'll use Julianna until there's nothing left of her and then everyone will be dead. They already have the T-Virus and the G-Virus. Imagine what will happen once they have Eclipse." Both Trent and Reagan could deny that Jenna had a point. The black haired girl sighed and ran a hand through her hair. 'I've seen what all of those viruses can do to a person. I don't want to think what would happen if all three were to leak out or worse, be combined. Besides, I have more than a few friends in the BSAA."

'How did you manage that?" Trent asked, genuinely curious.

'Let's just say that most are old family friends," Jenna continued. 'But if I give them the word, they'll come running. I know they will. But we need to decide right now if we're all willing to go through with this. There's no more room for error; we all can agree on that." Trent and Reagan shared a look, then returned their gazes to Jenna.

'I hope you're right about this friend of yours." Reagan murmured. Jenna smiled reassuringly.

'Don't worry, I am."

* * *

 **A/N-** I put in that last part because I couldn't shake the feeling that it was meant to be in there. This story isn't going to be as long as I thought it would, so I needed to get something in there to show some progression. Hopefully that update will be enough to hold you over till the next chapter. Life's been super crazy on my end with planning a wedding and getting started in a new job. I promise I haven't forgotten this story and will be adding the next chapter very soon. =)

Thank you all for the reviews! I can't say that enough. Seeing your kind encouraging words mean very much to me and make me smile when I see them. I can't possibly name you all, but just know that you've made this lowly writer very happy. Thanks again! You're awesome!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N** \- At long last, I have returned! It's been a hell of a time that I've been away- I've gotten married to the love of my life and finally settled in to our new home. The new job is keeping me busy, however, so those are the biggest reasons as to why I've not been on too much or writing as much as I should. But now I have returned, and I can get this story going!

I'm very sorry for the long delay, but I'm finally out of the writer's block and have every intention to finish this story one way or another. I'm sad that it's not going to be as long as I thought it was, so things are going to start moving quick from here on out.

Thank you all again for the kind words and the favs. Each and everyone of you make me smile when I see the kind words that are written and feel so accomplished giving you all something to enjoy. My only hope is that I can continue to make you all smile in return and give you a story that does justice to the awesome character that is Albert Wesker and the Resident Evil gameverse as a whole.

Now go, my lovable lovelies! Go read and enjoy to your heart's content!

* * *

Jenna didn't come into her room the next morning.

Thinking maybe that something had come up, Julianna proceeded through her morning routine of showering and then looking for something presentable to wear that day. After combing and pulling back her red hair in a braid, Julianna opted for a white blouse with kimono sleeves, dark blue jeans, and her favorite black shoes. _I wonder what Jenna plans for me today,_ she wondered, glancing outside. It was a bright sunny morning, so bright that the light from outside hurt her eyes. The cornflower blue sky had not a single cloud in the sky, which was a good thing. There'd been too many rainy spells, to begin with. Looking away, she started for the door before a curt knock cut her off. _Maybe that's her right now,_ she thought with a smile.

Just as she headed for the door, it opened up slowly.

'I was wondering when you were going to show up," Julianna said. 'You're late this morning-" She stopped suddenly, seeing that the figure in front of her wasn't Jenna.

'When I see Miss Kelly, I'll be sure to pass that along to her." Wesker said, standing in front of the doorway. Julianna wasn't sure what to say. 'As it is, you'll have to settle with me."

'Wesker?" Julianna began, never expecting to see him this early in the day.

'Expecting to see someone else, were you?" he asked, a shadow of a smirk on his lips.

'Well… yes, actually." Julianna admitted. 'Jenna usually comes here."

'Indeed, but she's not here." Wesker said simply, taking Julianna's arm and leading her towards the door.

'Then where is she?"

'Miss Kelly is on a leave of absence and isn't expected back until next week. In the meantime, you'll be spending your days with me." Julianna said nothing in response, only stared at him in confusion. _Jenna never mentioned leaving._ Something didn't add up, but Wesker gave her no opportunity to question the matter further as he practically dragged her out the door. She didn't want to outright admit it, but there was a pit forming in her stomach at the thought of Jenna leaving without notice.

Once they were over the threshold of her room, Wesker released her arm and instead slowed his pace so that they were walking side by side. Julianna gave him a sideways glance, noticing that he was wearing his usual black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black pants and boots, as well as his signature black sunglasses. His hands also were clad in black, making her wonder if he ever took them off. _Someone has an affinity for black and leather,_ Julianna thought to herself.

If only it were his appearance that was causing her to have so many racing thoughts, particularly his actions last night…

 _He walked towards her rather than towards the door, coming so close that Julianna could do little more than freeze in anticipation an act of violence against her. To her surprise, no such thing happened. Instead, Wesker stopped just inches away from her, bending his head down to speak in her ear._

' _I'd like to continue this conversation at a later time," he said, his breath wafting over her ear and causing her skin to break out in goosebumps, her own breath caught in her throat by his close proximity. 'Preferably indoors at a time where there are no interruptions." With that, he moved away, his hand brushing against hers as he went. Jolts of electricity went through her at the contact, intensifying the cold chills she was receiving…_

That was nerve wracking enough, but the fact that he now was taking it upon himself to escort her to God knows where was even more so. She didn't understand this change in his demeanor, nor did she like it. But at the same time, Julianna knew better than to outright question him about it. Her teeth ground against each other; she hated feeling like she was walking on eggshells all the time.

'I take it that Miss Kelly explained to you the details of the virus you carry and why you're not to speak of it to anyone other than she and myself," Wesker began conversationally. Julianna gave him a sideways look.

'She mentioned it once or twice," she admitted. 'But never brought up speaking about it to you." _You're not the easiest person to talk to in the first place._

'She's not the one you or anyone else here answers to," he said irritably, clearly displeased with this new information. He paused for a moment. 'It doesn't matter anymore. Since I can't have anyone who can correctly do their assigned tasks, I'll take on the responsibility myself." Julianna wasn't going to ask her next question, but it kept nagging at her until she could no longer bear it.

She risked asking, 'Did Jenna mention why she left?"

'She did not," Wesker confirmed. 'It doesn't matter, we will commence with our work with or without her aid."

'…I see," Julianna answered. They continued on in silence until they reached what Julianna thought was the dining hall where he surprised her once more by holding open the door for her. Julianna went through, but not without casting him a questioning look. _I don't like how he's acting_ , she thought. Every inhuman instinct she possessed was going crazy, every fiber of her being urging her to get away from him. Julianna knew better than to even try it upon looking at the gun on his belt, an unspoken dare for her to try something even remotely threatening. She may be fast, but she knew from personal experience that Wesker was even faster. She almost didn't want to think just how strong he'd be if he was the same species as she.

Only when she'd turned her gaze to the room did she realize that this wasn't the dining hall that she was accustomed to. Actually, it looked nothing like the spacious room with long tables and what Jenna called a buffet. This room was different first and foremost in that it was small with only one table and two chairs made of cherry wood. It was dimly lit, whereas the main dining hall was filled with the natural light from the huge windows. That was something else that the room lacked- windows. It was painted a lovely shade of crimson with an unlit fireplace not far from said table which was already set for two.

If Julianna wasn't already on edge, she certainly was now.

Her ears heard the door close and lock as Wesker followed in behind her. She unconsciously stiffened momentarily as one of Wesker's gloved hands rested on the small of her back, his thumb caressing it lightly before gently (whoever would have thought he was capable of gentleness) and guiding her to one of the chairs and pulling it out for her.

Julianna glanced at him unsurely, but otherwise did as she was silently bid, scooting close to the table and looking down at her plate. It was filled with bacon, perfectly made sunny side up eggs, toast, and an orange which had already been cut in half. Orange juice and water sat opposite o the plate with silverware and a white linen napkin. Red eyes looked up to see Wesker take a seat opposite of her, a large hand reaching up to do something that she'd yet to see him do- _remove his sunglasses._

Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed into his reptilian orange-red eyes for the first time, confirming her original suspicions that she wasn't seeing things when she'd catch a glimpse of his eyes. Julianna blinked and looked back down at her food, mimicking his actions of digging in. An awkward bit of silence befell both inhuman creatures.

'So, Julianna," Wesker eventually began. 'What do you remember of your past life? Jenna has told me that you've been having vivid dreams of a place called Amarant." Julianna quickly chewed that which was already in her mouth, refusing to let him know that his question had taken her by surprise.

'I have," she started. _No use in lying about it._ 'I'm still unsure if they are pertinent to my memories as they are only of people I assume are from my past."

'You spoke a name when you were in critical condition," Wesker pressed. 'Ereavia. Who were you speaking of?"

'Ereavia is… _was_ my sister, I think. That is what she keeps referring herself as anyways. There was someone else as well." Wesker, who'd been in the act of taking a drink of water paused and looked at her with renewed interest. 'A man named Riordan. I don't know much else about him except that he called himself my older brother. Jenna seems to be under the impression that both of these people truly are related to me even if I don't fully remember them."

'I see," Wesker carried on with drinking some water, the with his meal. 'And what of Eclipse?"

'I'm afraid I still only know as much as you do. I've not recalled anything which stands out as unique. But Jenna gave me a book which recalled the events of an outbreak in London some years ago."

'There was," Wesker confirmed. 'In 1888, the same year as the Whitechapel murders." Julianna's eyes snapped up to his, her ears listening to every detail carefully. 'It all began in the East End, the poorest part of the city at the time. It's not a secret that public hygiene were not the best in the world and living conditions were prime breeding grounds for viruses of all kinds to develop. However, some would argue that it was no accident which caused the outbreak of Eclipse in the first place.

'There was talk, several years after the fact, that someone had conspired to plant Eclipse into the main water supply as a means to send all of England into chaos. The only prime suspect was a man named Melchiah Menos." At the mention of this name, an image flashed before Julianna's eyes which lingered just long enough for her to make out a man with a pale face and black hair. Most piercing of all were his vibrant Payne's gray eyes. _I've seen him before,_ was the only other thought that followed once the frightening visage of the man faded away.

'Rumor had it that Melchiah conspired with his common-law wife and the man who would become the killer known as Jack the Ripper to cause an outbreak that would wipe out the entire population of the East End as well as the reigning family at the time in order to ensure that they would seize control of England and Amarant as well through what can be considered as the first major act of bioterrorism in the eighteenth century.

'They were successful to some extent in that Eclipse managed to wipe out a considerable amount of Whitechapel's population in less than a month. All the while, the main public were too busy focusing on Jack the Ripper and neglecting to address the growing number of Sangs." Another image came into Julianna's mind, one which should have horrified her, but it only made Julianna more eager to remember more- an image of a mutilated woman lying at her feet, three creatures feasting upon her body…

At that moment, a full crystal clear memory played out before her eyes.

 _At that instant, a horrifyingly familiar smell assaulted her. It was metallic, almost as thick as the smog itself, but it was far more prevalent the closer she drew to the middle of the alleyway. Looking down at her shoes, Julianna could see that she was standing in a dark puddle, indeed close to where the source of the smell was coming from. Steadily, the young Advent knelt down to inspect it, shakily extending a hand to touch the liquid and hoping it wasn't what she was beginning to suspect it was. Once her slender fingers grazed the surface, she drew them back and flipped her hand over._

 _A knot formed in her stomach at the sight._

' _Blood," she whispered, her hand starting to tremble at the realization. Her eyes wandered up from the puddle to the space in front of her, hoping beyond hope that this was only a horrible-_

' _Oh my god," she breathed, nearly falling back as her carmine eyes widened at the sight in front of her._

 _There, not very far from where she was originally walking, was the mutilated corpse of a woman that appeared to be in her late forties with dark hair and a horrified look on her pale face. Her eyes were already glazed over, indicating that she'd been dead for but a few minutes it seemed. But it wasn't just the sight of a body before her that frightened Julianna the most, rather, it was the shapes of three figures knelt over the body, their hands digging around in what had once been the lady's abdomen and pulling out what Julianna knew was organs and entrails before devouring them hungrily._

 _Her body shook pugnaciously as her wide eyes took in the appearance of these murderous beings- their faces were elongated more so than a normal person's should be, their fingers just as long with incredibly sharp looking nails at the tips. Their big eyes were unlike ones she'd ever seen before- the corneas were completely black as night rather than the healthy white as with others, and the irises red as blood. What had surely been strong bodies were now emaciated looking, their tattered clothing barely hanging onto them._

' _What the hell are these things?" she wondered, falling back onto her behind in absolute terror. The sounds of flesh tearing and obnoxiously loud chewing was only intensifying it, the animalistic growls and hisses more demonic than anything else…_

The memory faded away like fog, Wesker's voice bringing her back to the present.

'Little did anyone realize was that Melchiah wasn't only planning to take over London by poisoning the water with the infected blood of those unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he also was conspiring to change himself into something that was only rumored to exist- an Elder Sang."

'An Elder Sang?"

'It's rumored that if a hybrid such as yourself was to drink the blood of a pureblood Advent woman, one can change into an Elder Sang and become more powerful than both Sangs and Advents together. And he, at last, experienced success first by killing his wife then by murdering Amarant's leader. But despite his best efforts, Eclipse wasn't spread any farther due to the interference of the leader's children. In retaliation, he sent those whom he created into Amarant, slaughtering every man, woman, and child without discretion. Those who were fortunate enough to escape were never seen nor heard from again." Julianna expected to have another flashback but experienced nothing. _So much for that,_ she sullenly thought. _At least I know a little more of what happened now, even if it's all supposedly a rumor._

'Does that refresh your memory anymore so?" Wesker asked, leaning forward on his elbows. Julianna met his gaze fearlessly, not allowing him to see just how much he'd made her think.

'Somewhat, but not enough to remember everything," Julianna admitted. It was a half-truth, but even if it weren't, she'd still say it to keep him from thinking that he'd managed to get into her head. She'd give him credit where credit was due; he'd managed to make her remember _something_ whereas Jenna had been unsuccessful. Perhaps Wesker was useful for something anyways.

The glint in his eyes, however, sent a chill down her spine. If Wesker sensed this, he certainly didn't act like it. When she saw the ghost of a smirk pull at the corners of his pale lips, Julianna thought otherwise.

'Perhaps your time with me will change that," Wesker muttered cryptically, just loud enough for Julianna to hear him. She started to say something to that, but thought better of it and finished off her orange juice before rising to stand, which Wesker did as well. Even though the fire wasn't lit, Julianna couldn't help but feel as though the room had grown a degree or two too warm for her liking. She chose to ignore this and the strange fluttering in her stomach that had been churning up since she saw that look on his face. Wesker moved to unlock the door before pausing right as Julianna came up to rest beside him. Faster than she could react, Wesker grabbed hold of Julianna and pinned her against the door with his body, cutting off any possible escape by putting both of his arms on either side of her.

Her red eyes opened a tad wider than she wanted them to as she looked up at his still exposed eyes, not appreciating the new direction that this had taken. When he came an inch too close to her face, Julianna braced herself for the worst, prepared to fight to the death if she had to. They stated at one another for a long moment before Wesker spoke again.

'Now Julianna, why are you so eager to leave? Aren't you forgetting something?"

'Forgetting what?" _To beat the everliving hell out of you if you don't get the hell away from me? Because I can do that right now if you want,_ she thought but didn't dare voice. He chuckled darkly.

'You just recalled something fro your past and you've not even thought to thank me." Wesker said simply, that gleam in his eyes doing little to alleviate that persistent fluttering in her stomach. Her eyes suddenly narrowed at the prospect that this was all over her failure to thank him for something she felt hardly warranted a thank you in the first place. But if that's what it took to make him back up without resorting to violence…

She'd acquiesce this _one_ time.

'Very well… _thank you_ ," she grumbled.

'Again, _without_ the poison," he commanded. Julianna just barely kept herself from rolling her eyes.

'Thank you, Wesker," she said, kicking herself mentally for it.

'Good," he said, moving back finally and moving Julianna out of the way so that he could open the door. 'And Julianna?" She looked back up at him. 'You really should smile more often. That frown of yours is quite unbecoming of you." With that, he replaced his sunglasses back on his face and exited the room. Julianna didn't even dignify that with an answer as she followed behind him, the food she'd just eaten forming into a lump in her stomach. _Where are you, Jenna?_ She thought to herself. _Where are you when I need you most?_

* * *

 **A/N-** I'll admit that this chapter was a bit hard for me for a couple of reasons. One is that I wanted to get Jenna out of the picture long enough for Julianna to get some time alone with Wesker. This leads me to my second reason- I know what's coming after this. I know what's going to go down very soon in the story and it's not going to be pretty. It's one of those things that I'm both anticipating and dreading writing because God knows I put Julianna through hell in my novel (Which if you'd like to read it, please let me know! It's still a work in progress, but it's coming along slowly but surely.), and I want there to be a moment when she actually doesn't have to worry about something going haywire for her. We'll just leave it at that.

Again thank you for the reviews and the favs. Please continue to do so and I'll try my best to get future chapters out as soon as I can!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N-** Since I've had so many requests, I'm going to post this here so that everyone can see it in case they were wondering: I've been asked several times if I would allow art work of _Advent Children_ to be created and posted on sites like DeviantART or Tumblr. The answer is yes, but on the condition that you let me know ahead of time that you're working on one. So long as I'm aware of it and all credit for Julianna or other original characters is given to me, I don't mind you posting it elsewhere. Also, if you do, please send them my way! =D

Once again, thanks for the reviews and favs! Please keep them coming!

* * *

 _Northern Maine_

The air was salty and cold as Jenna sat alone by the rocky shore, dressed casually in a green and purple sweater, black skinny jeans, and boots, looking out at the rainy horizon and the endless expanse of the sea. Her black hair was loose for once, floating in the gentle breeze that was blowing off the Atlantic. Early this morning, she'd arrived at the place she had once called home, and no words could describe the joy she'd felt when the seaside air and the ever-present chill of a dreary rainy day caressed her face.

As happy as she was to see this place again, Jenna knew better than to get too comfy. Her reason for being here was not to have fun or visit those whom she hadn't seen in ages, no matter how much she wished she were. It was so rare that she got a moment like this where she wasn't being pulled in every direction, not being forced to lie to others, not fearing for her life at the smallest mistake… _If only life could go back to the way it should be,_ Jenna thought longingly. How she missed the days that she innocently played with her friends, completely oblivious to the madness that was the world she'd been born into. Life was so much simpler and safer then.

The sounds of someone walking towards her caught Jenna's attention as she turned in that direction. Her eyes lit up at the familiar sight of a well-built man wearing an Army green jacket, white shirt and black pants, shoes and a tie. His brown disheveled hair was neatly trimmed but otherwise was all over the place, and his brown eyes betraying that he too recognized her. But it was the logo on his left arm of his jacket and badge on his chest that was most comforting of all- that of the BSAA.

'O'Brien, it's good to see you again!" Jenna smiled, extending a hand once he was close to shake. He returned the gesture, giving the young woman a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

'Miss Jenna Desirae Kelly, always a pleasure," Clive O'Brien said, stepping back to look at her. 'Look how tall you are! You've grown like a weed since the last time I saw you." Jenna giggled quietly.

'It's been a good minute huh?" she replied. 'How have you been?"

'Better," O'Brien began, taking a seat on the bench, motioning for Jenna to do the same. 'Work keeps me busy, as does the rest of my life. Be lucky you're so young; once you get my age it all goes downhill from there."

'You shouldn't work so much then if you feel that stressed out. You really should consider a vacation." She advised.

'I appreciate the concern but my luck if I take a break some crazy shit will pop off." Both he and Jenna laughed at this, the latter turning to look at her. 'Enough about my tired old ass, though," he began, turning to face the younger woman. 'I'm sure I'm not the reason you came all this way. What can I do for you, little miss?"

'It's not for me, it's for someone else," Jenna began, reaching into her brown bag which had been at her feet and pulling out a folder for O'Brien. 'I'm sure you remember the incident of a sink hole in London a few months ago."

'The London Cave In? Sure do; that's the one that nearly took Buckingham Palace with it and revealed some underground civilization, right?"

'That's the one," Jenna confirmed. 'There was evidence that it was a completely self-sustained civilization as well as evidence that it was still inhabited for a considerable amount of time."

'I'd read all the reports. It was fascinating to see the artifacts they pulled out of there."

'That wasn't all they found under there. There was something hidden in the rubble that proved to be an absolutely unexpected find." O'Brien looked at her with anticipation. 'They- and by they I mean the UBCS- found another one."

'Another one?" He asked, growing silent before he suddenly realized what Jenna meant. 'Another hybrid? Are you sure?"

'Yes, Clive, I've seen her with my own eyes." She opened the file and handed it to the BSAA director, watching as he flipped through it. His face went from surprise to realization.

'Is this why you've been begging me to send operatives to your location?"

'Yes, it is." Jenna admitted. 'She's the last known hybrid that managed to survive after all these years. I doubt that we'll find another one unless the other two cities are found. But we need to act quickly. Spencer may be dull, but he's not stupid. We both know that he'll run for the hills if we give him enough time and he'll likely take Julianna with him." O'Brien gave her a strange look. 'That's her name; Julianna Dashara." His eyes widened at the name.

'Julianna Dashara?" he asked. 'As in the sister of a man named Riordan Dashara?" Now it was Jenna's turn to be surprised.

'Well, yes, but… how did you know she had a brother?" O'Brien gave her a knowing smile, turning to look behind them. Jenna quirked an eyebrow at this, doing the same as he to find out what he was staring at. Once she did so, her breath caught in her throat.

There, standing not far away and dressed just as casually as she only in a red hoodie that currently unzipped to reveal a gray shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers, was a much taller man with broad shoulders and an alabaster face that was neither sharp nor rounded, his dark hair hanging slightly in his stormy gray eyes. A big smile was on his face as he looked at Jenna, a gesture which caused something inside her to jump for absolute joy and the urge to run and embrace this man welling up inside her so strongly that it was nearly painful. Sensing this, the man came closer to both seated adults, giving Jenna more excited butterflies the closer her got until she could no longer bear it. The raven haired girl stood up and approached him slowly, hardly daring to believe her eyes. _I know him,_ was the only thought in her mind as she and the ma came to rest a good five feet away from one another. The sun peeked out through the clouds just a bit at the moment, the light from such illuminating the two as they stared at one another.

From the corner of her eye, Jenna caught sight of a little girl dressed in a lilac dress with white ribbons braided in her hair and vibrant purple eyes standing beside her, looking at the man as well and practically bouncing up and down in excitement. Periodically the girl child would look up at her as though to ask permission to run the man. When Jenna looked closer at the man, she could have sworn that she saw a spectral image of the same man only dressed all in brown save for a red hood hanging down, looking also at the little girl with what Jenna knew was brotherly love.

Her brown eyes met his stormy grays, seeing the same light in his physical eyes. His asymmetrical face should have been unsettling to her as human instinct should have, but it didn't. Those eyes of his betrayed that he too knew her as well. She was in absolute awe not because of his inhuman beauty, but that a single memory was playing out before her very eyes:

 _The gray-eyed man cautiously approached one of the many houses in the human settlement, the little violet-eyed girl's hand clutched tightly in his own. He was certain that this was the right house; after all, the human man he'd spoken to early had been crystal clear that this house was the safest place for the little one. Even still, he couldn't shake the feeling that this was wrong, that she'd be safer amongst her own kind. That was the way it was supposed to be; the people raised the children together as they had always done._

 _Except there weren't any people to help them, not even their loving mother. They were orphans now, thanks to those damned Sangs._

 _Reaching the front door, he looked down at the girl and knelt before her, brushing back the hood that hid her face from view. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and scared._

' _I don't want to stay with these people," she argued in their native tongue. 'I want to stay with you!" He wanted that so much. She had no idea how much he wanted to take the girl and raise her as his own as their mother would have wanted. But a deal was a deal. They owed the kind human man their lives for saving them when he took them into his house and sheltered them for several days after the fall of their home… He'd been the only human to show them kindness when others ran in fear or drove them away._

' _I'm sorry," he muttered, hair falling into his face as he hung his head. 'If I could care for you on my own… believe me, I would." The little girl bowed her head as well as a somber silence befell them._

' _Will I ever see you again?" The girl innocently asked, catching his attention. As much as he wanted to say yes, he knew that there was too great of a possibility that that wouldn't happen, in this lifetime at least. He'd heard of others who'd lost their memories as the years went on, constantly having to change their identities to keep suspicion from flaring up. It was so easy to lose one's self with all of this extra precaution, but it was necessary. The absolute last thing any of them needed was for humans to start rooting the last of them out and killing them._

 _Still more of a reason to stick together…_

' _I'll find you," he finally said, looking up at her. His little sister's eyes met his at this. 'No matter how long it takes- years, centuries, millenniums- I'll find a way back to you and when I do, I promise we'll never be apart again. Just stay strong for me and don't cry. Be brave and big sister and I will be back to get you."_

'… _Promise?"_

' _I promise," he affirmed. The little one was still for a moment, then lurched forward to hug her older brother, trying to hold in the tears as hard as she could but failing._

' _I'll never forget you," she vowed. 'I promise I'll never forget you."_

' _I know you won't," he answered, moving back to wipe away the tears that had escaped from her eyes. 'No matter where I go, I'm always with you. Just look inside yourself, and you'll find me there."_

She faded back to the present after what felt like centuries but was, in reality, mere seconds. Slowly, she pulled back realizing that at some point, she'd closed the gap between them and was embracing the man in an absolute death grip. Jenna looked up at him, seeing the happy tears in his eyes as he saw the same memory she did. The prospect of such wasn't strong but instead felt natural.

'It's been a long time," he began in a long forgotten language that she understood perfectly. 'I think it's safe to say that I kept my promise… right?" Riordan Dashara asked, a playful yet ecstatic grin on his face. Her own turned up into a smile.

'It sure has. More than you know." She turned back to O'Brien who was watching this all unfold quietly.

'I told you I'd track her down for you, Riordan," he said, giving one of his favorite operatives.

'You'd done just that, sir," the Dashara man spoke, releasing Jenna and walking over to his superior. 'Though I'm still one sibling short."

'That will be corrected in due time," O'Brien assured, looking over at the raven haired woman. 'Jenna here is going to make sure of that." He gave the girl another knowing smile. 'But that's not your real name, is it?" Jenna returned the smile and removed the contacts from her eyes, throwing them elsewhere to reveal a different eye color altogether. 'You're more special than you wanted us all to believe in the first place." Violet eyes smiled at both men, her lips mimicking this.

'I've been special from the day I was born," Ereavia Dashara replied.

When Wesker had said that Julianna would be spending the day with him, she'd honestly believed that he'd just lock her in a room where he could watch her while he went about his day. But once more he'd surprised her by allowing her to sit in his office while he fiddled around with whatever held his interest on the computer and running tests on vials that contained what she assumed was either her blood, Eclipse, or something else. While he did that, she immersed herself in a book Wesker had tossed to her with orders to "see if anything inside jogged her memory". This particular book was detailing the intricate details of how the Advent society was structured as well as the special traits and bonds that differed from a human's.

 _As is common knowledge by now, Advents and their children- be they pureblood or otherwise- possess features that most humans could only dream of having. The first is that they have asymmetrical faces- the right side and left sides of their faces are completely identical to each other. This can cause them to have a frightening appearance to humans as perfect faces ca be unsettling to most. Were it not for the soothing aura that they may or may not choose to exceed, any human who is afraid of them would be running in terror at the very sight._

 _Amongst their families, however, they shared a very special bond with one another. Advents, despite common belief, did not mate for life. In fact, they would take one or more as consorts, often bedding with both sexes. In fact, it wasn't uncommon for two males or two females to raise children together and bond together through marriage. However, marriage between two Advents was accomplished simply through what was called Sanguine Rites- put simply they transferred a small amount of blood to each other in order to become symbiotically bound for life._ Julianna had to stop at this, considering this new information carefully. _Well, that's one way to "put a ring on it" I suppose._ She shook her head and kept reading.

 _As we are on the topic of being bonded symbiotically, that is the exact bond that mothers, children, and siblings shared from the moment of conception. At birth, children received their mother's memories, something which they kept until they were forty years old (Advents aged by multiples of ten. In human years, this equates to four years old.). They would then begin to lose these memories gradually until they were full adults._

 _One would expect that this would cause confusion at having two sets of memories- their mother's and their own. But it's long been accepted that Advents have perfect memories_ ( _I call bullshit,_ Julianna thought sardonically.) _, however, it's unclear why they forget their mother's memories. It can be assumed that they have the memories in the first place as a means of passing on talents and skills to their children. Siblings were also bound in much the same way, however, they were only able to project their memories into one another's minds, no more than one at a time._

As she read this, Julianna caught herself wondering- who was her mother? She'd been remembering things about her brother and sister but had yet to remember anything about her mother, much less her father. She finished with that particular section before the book switched topics to focus on the matriarchal society that was Amarant.

 _Prominently featured in artwork and writings said to have been created by Advents, there are three families that may have acted as the rulers of Amarant, the largest of the known Advent cities. These families were the Ninasas, the Blinasais, and the Dasharas._ Right away Julianna's full attention was grabbed. _Each family was given equal power amongst on another, the matriarchs of each raising their children in close proximity with one another in the hopes that they would carry on this tradition. At the three corners of the civilization, they watched over their people serving not just as the leaders, but as the medical experts (the Ninasas), the authoritarians that oversaw legal proceedings (the Blinasais) and the first line of defense against intruders and other threats (the Dasharas). Though this has been disputed, it's long been accepted that of the three, it was the woman known as Amidista Dashara that was the Supreme Lady (pictured on the right)._ On the next page following this description, was a photograph of a painting which effectively held her gaze.

Looking back at her, eternally frozen in the painting, was a beautiful woman with honey gold skin, chocolate colored locks of hair curled perfectly and falling over her shoulders, and haunting amber eyes. Her face was asymmetrical as all Advent faces were with aristocratical features including high cheek bones, almond shaped eyes, a tiny nose, and full ruby lips. Her enchanting eyes danced with a kind light evident even through a photograph. Julianna was frozen in captivation, a hand coming to touch the woman's face through the paper, a feeling of an unnaturally strong bond pulling at her heart.

 _Is this her?_ she wondered, her red eyes traveling over the woman's face many times, trying desperately to remember. _Is she my mother?_ The more she kept staring at her, the more strongly the connection to her became. Despite her longing to know for certain, there was another thought that had come into her mind as she looked up at Wesker, whose back was turned to her. As her red eyes narrowed, she deduced that it was not by chance that he gave her this particular book to read. _How much does he really know about me? What isn't he telling me?_ It could have been so easy for her to kill him right now with his back turned, not without demanding that he tell her everything her knew.

When he moved to turn back towards her, Julianna quickly averted her gaze back to the book, only glancing back up at him at the sounds of a door opening.

'Stay where you are," he ordered. 'I'll return momentarily." _Not like I have anything better to do,_ Julianna thought, giving him a curt nod and looking away once more once he exited and closed the door behind him. The amber-eyed woman stared back her with a smile, something which was oddly soothing to her.

'Beautiful lady, who are you?" She whispered. 'If you were my mother, why can't I remember you? If you are, I'd have so many questions for you, so many doubts that you could assure are just that…"

 _Julianna_.

She rose her head, looking around at the room upon hearing her name and finding it empty. Julianna ignored it or tried to when it called out again. _Julianna, do not be afraid._

'I'm hearing things," she muttered quietly, rubbing her eyes. 'I'm tired and I'm hearing things." That's what she wanted to believe anyways. Her eyes dropped down and then back up. Surely it wouldn't hurt to close her eyes for a few minutes…

* * *

 _'Julianna! Big sister, wake up!" Ereavia's familiar voice called, the sensation of being shaken bringing Julianna out of her slumber. A smile graced her lips when her carmine eyes opened to see the familiar and comforting sight of the stone dwelling she inhabited in these dreams. I'm back home, she thought to herself, sitting up at Ereavia's insistence._

 _'What is it, little sister?" she responded in their native tongue, stretching her arms over her head._

 _'Hurry, you must get up! She's back!" the girl replied with a big smile, pulling Julianna up to her feet._

 _'Who's back?" Julianna asked, easing herself up and following the child as she ran to the doorway, a strange sound coming from it…_

* * *

Her eyes snapped right back open, Amarant fading from view just as quickly as it had appeared. Realizing it was just Wesker opening the door, Julianna dropped her eyes back to the book, flipping the page to see if there was anything more about the beautiful woman contained within the pages. She didn't want him to see that she was upset at having come back to the waking world prematurely. It had been too long since she'd seen Amarant in her dreams…

Seeing the hybrid girl still so engrossed in the book, Wesker couldn't help but smirk. Surely she was under the impression that he'd given her the book at random, but he was smart enough to know that Julianna would catch on sooner or later that he had an advantage against her in that he already knew who her potential mother was. It wasn't a far fetch to guess who she really was after he carefully read and re-read the novel, wanting to be absolutely sure that his suspicions were correct.

His ulterior motive, however, was to prove Jenna's excuse that mere traces of Eclipse could be found in Julianna's blood. For that, Wesker was going to have to take Julianna off guard and sedate her with the strongest narcotic he could without killing her (which was the reason why he'd left the office in the first place) and drain as much blood as they needed to finally get a proper sample. All he needed was to make sure that she didn't wake prematurely.

Wesker approached the counter and picked up a glass that he'd had there for God knew how long, and filled it to the brim with water. Then, making sure that Julianna didn't see him, Wesker dropped in a fast dissolving tablet and waited for it to stop fizzing. Once the deed was done, he hid away a syringe under a sheet of paper and turned back to Julianna with the glass of water, setting it down beside her when he was close. The hybrid's eyes looked at it in curiosity.

'What's this for?" she asked, looking up at him.

'You've not moved since you've started reading. I assumed you'd be requiring water sooner or later." If she caught on that something was amiss, Julianna didn't betray it.

'Thank you," she muttered, reaching for the glass and taking a small sip. She glanced back at the book, flipping a page as Wesker sat back down behind his desk. His eyes watched her even as he went about his façade of working on the computer, periodically checking the glass of water to see how much she'd drank.

All told this went on for a good ten minutes, but for Wesker, it was an eternity. She was taking too damn long; he needed her sedated _now_. He started to go through with his original idea of administering it by force, but that would simply cause her to lash out. He needed to get close enough to do what needed to be done without arousing suspicion. But so help him if she didn't hurry up and drink…

After another minute or so, it became clear to him that he was going to have to do this the hard way.

The question was, how could he do it without Julianna attacking him? Wesker knew without a shadow of a doubt that he could overpower her, but he was also smart enough to note that her time awake- realizing what she was and what she was capable of- could potentially be risky. Not even he was completely sure what her powers entailed. She was already strong and fast enough to keep up with him, but he'd only seen her fight physically. Rumor had it that they were capable of mentally oppression others. While this was indeed fascinating to him, it was a chance he didn't want to take. He was going to have to distract her long enough to administer the sedative and commence with his plan.

And there was only one good way he knew of to distract her.

'Julianna," he began, looking at his computer screen. The hybrid glanced up. 'I've left an important vial on the counter in front of you. Retrieve it for me."

'…Sure," Julianna stated, looking at him suspiciously but otherwise doing what he asked. As she approached the work surface, Wesker took off his sunglasses and waited for his opportunity, smirking when she looked over the syringe still hidden under the file. 'Which one?" she called over her shoulder.

'The one to the right labeled with a green dot."

'Alright," she said, finding the one he mentioned and moving to turn around.

Wesker was in one place, then suddenly right in front of her, pinning her against the metal countertop and himself easily. Her red eyes snapped up to him in seconds, a fierce light coming to them before Wesker quelled the hand that started to push him back and away from her.

'Now, now, Julianna," he began, unable to stop the smile that came to his face. Fiery just like those eyes of hers… 'How well did fighting me work out for you in the first place? Don't you think that if I really wanted you dead I would have already disposed of you?" Julianna's eyes narrowed at this.

'What is it now, Wesker?" she grumbled. 'Did I forget to say something to you again?"

'On the contrary, you did exactly what I asked of you," he replied, looking at the vial in her hand and taking it away, putting it behind her instead. 'You have been exceptionally well behaved recently since you've arrived, though I wonder if that's all an act to get a chance to escape."

'Seeing as you are no doubt watching my every move, I've not seen a point in trying," Julianna replied, trying to put some space between her and Wesker. 'I don't see how that has anything to do with your being so close to me.

'It has absolutely nothing to do with that at all, but you are everything to do with my being in such close proximity." Her red eyes looked at him closely, left and right, then back at him. He realized that she realized there was a double entendre in this statement, but the way she looked up at him made him realize that she was both wary and intrigued by this statement.

He had to admit that he was intrigued as well.

'And what about me has you so interested?" She asked, bracing her hands against the counter. He blinked; was this an unspoken invitation? She certainly would never answer him if he just outright asked. But there was something new that he just noticed on her before…

Was that a shadow of a _smile_ on her face?

'There are many things," he continued, not showing his mild surprise of even thinking that she would dare smile at him. 'Mostly a question that's been rather bothersome as of late."

'Which is?"

'Is Eclipse contracted through both saliva and blood, or just blood?" he started, leaning just close enough to brush his nose against hers.

'…Why?"

'Just _answer_ my question, Julianna."

'I…" she was clearly flustered by his close proximity, but she refused to show it. 'It's only through blood. Now why-"

'Good," he interrupted. 'That's all I needed to know." He finished with a predatory smile. Not giving her a chance to answer, Wesker pressed his lips against hers, muffling her cry of surprise. His reptilian eyes stared into hers as he kissed her, grabbing her hand when it rose to strike him, resorting to restraining both arms to her sides by wrapping his own arms around her when she would have struggled away.

Julianna was at an absolute loss as his lips moved against hers, thoughts rushing through her head but nothing cohesive coming together. She wanted to keep fighting; his eyes were open ad staring at her ad that predatory look was sending her into a panic.

 _Stop_ , she wanted to say. _Get the hell away from me!_ But another part of her was stirring at what should have bee an intimate act but was instead one that spoke nothing of anything other than ill-will. Once his eyes closed, however, everything changed. Suddenly she felt her own close, her lips brushing against his own finally. She couldn't come up with a reason why. Perhaps it was that secret longing that she'd had after seeing those two humans kissing just a fortnight ago, perhaps it was because she'd forgotten how this felt. Whatever the case, Julianna didn't want to question it too much. She slanted her head slightly, his grip loosening enough so that her arms could slip free and move upwards, one hand resting on his neck, the other wrapping around his waist leaving his arms to rest on her small waist.

So lost in this moment, Julianna was unaware of one of Wesker's hands wandering up to her neck…

And then the annoying beeping that was Wesker's phone went off.

* * *

 **A/N-** It finally happened... they FINALLY kissed! *brown bag* I really didn't think this was going to happen, but no matter how many times I tried to have Wesker just stab her in the neck with the syringe, he wouldn't do it. (And it doesn't help that DC Douglas' voice was in there saying "Get the guy laid already!".)

So long as he turns off that damn phone, he might just get laid yet. If Julianna will go along with it.


	13. Chapter 13

Just as quick as he'd been upon her, Wesker recoiled as though he'd been scalded with hot water, growling in obvious frustration as he stormed over to his desk and grabbed the offending bit of technology.

'What do _you_ want?" he hissed. Julianna tuned him out, gathering herself as a hand brushed back the hair that had escaped her braid. _Holy shit, that was close_ , she thought, her body still quivering from that brief moment which had felt like forever. Another minute and she were sure _something_ much more intense would have happened. A flush came over her face at the thought. Now that was something she'd rather not get herself into. _It's not like there are any more of your kind,_ her mind offered. She ignored that as she watched Wesker with his back turned. Strange… it was the first time she'd taken a moment to notice how well his shirt fit him.

 _Oh, stop it!_ She chided herself, turning away and facing the counter again. Her eyes looked over everything and anything, trying to take her mind off of what just happened. That's when Julianna noticed a bit of broken glass close to where her back had been. Following the trail, she finally saw a slender metal and glass instrument that had an orange liquid all over it. _A syringe_ , Jenna's voice echoed in her mind. But what was it doing here out in the open? _Wesker must have left it out on accident._ She frowned at that; Wesker wasn't the kind of person to just forget something like this.

The thought that he'd done so with the purpose of using it from something else never crossed her mind.

No matter, he or she were bound to get cut by it sooner or later (not that it would be a life threatening one), so Juliana grabbed a paper towel and scraped everything off to the side where a trashcan rested, wiping them all into it then using another towel to wipe up the residue that remained before throwing both towels away. She looked over her work, making sure she hadn't missed anything. A satisfied smile came to Julianna's face, one that soon faded as soon as she heard Wesker hang up on whoever he was talking to, all but slamming it down on his desk making Julianna jump in surprise. His angry breathing went on for a good minute before his eyes slid over in her direction, noticing how Julianna was turned in his direction. They looked her up and down then back to his phone, standing up fully and walking back to her.

Red met reddish orange for a moment as he resumed his previous position with either arm at her sides. Juliana looked to each limb then back up at him questioningly. No words passed between either inhuman creatures for a long moment.

'Wesker, despite looking cool and collected before her, was seething with anger. He was so close, so close to sedating her for his experiment and once more being foiled. He'd be damned if he failed a third time.

Then another thought crossed his mind. Perhaps using just her wasn't the right way to go about extracting Eclipse. She'd said it was spread through blood, so why not use this as an opportunity to rid himself of cumbersome employees that had tried his patience one too many times? After all, Wesker had only heard what Eclipse could do but had never seen it in action.

'Now then," he began. 'As you were saying- Eclipse is only spread through blood."

'Yes," Julianna confirmed. 'If it is infectious as Jenna and her history books believe, I imagine that you would be ripping out your veins instead of speaking and standing before me."

'Ad you don't believe it's possible."

'Jenna gave me a small demonstration on blood, but I still have my doubts that it truly does just that on an actual person." Julianna paused for a moment, giving him a strange look. 'Why do you ask?" Wesker gave her an ominous smirk, one which made her blood run cold.

'That is about to change," he muttered, leaning in to whisper in her ear. 'I require your assistance for an experiment of mine." He chuckled at the words, sending a thrill through Julianna. A primal part of her that had been dormant for so long suddenly roused itself, filling her with intrigue and anticipation. He may have evil notions in mind, but whatever they were, they were making her feel more alive than she'd felt in all her time awake.

* * *

The warmth of the seaside cottage was a welcome distraction from the cold outside as Ereavia and Riordan sat by the roaring fire in the stone fireplace, hot cups of tea in their hands. Clive had left but an hour ago, attending to "business matters" as he put it. They thought nothing of it as it gave them time to catch up on things each had missed out on. They just finished the discussion of Ereavia's schooling and her work. She didn't smile at the last part, but she told him.

Riordan hadn't said anything after that, only stared into the fire with his stormy gray eyes. Ereavia looked at him, studying her brother before glancing down at her tea, taking a sip as he glanced at her. Ereavia's violet eyes looked back at him in return, smiling as she lowered her cup.

'Not as good as Mother's tea, but just as good," Riordan said, taking a sip.

'Mother always made the best, especially her jasmine lavender tea. They always made me so sleepy afterward."

'I think that was the idea, little sister," he laughed. 'You had boundless energy back then."

'I got us all into trouble too," Ereavia recalled. 'I never thought the day would come that Mother would be so desperate to put me to sleep."

'You weren't that bad," Riordan remarked.

'Yes, I was," Ereavia argued, smacking his arms and earning a laugh from her brother. 'Admit it. I was a handful and I was annoying as a kid."

'No," he said playfully, ruffling her hair. 'I was the awful one." Ereavia giggled, both siblings quieting themselves.

'You were especially awful to Julianna." She mentioned. 'You always pestered her when she was reading or poking fun at her if she read romance novels."

'Oh she would get so pissed at that!" he laughed. 'Lord Byron was her favorite as well as Keats. You wouldn't think someone like her would like them so much." Riordan went silent. 'Maybe she read them so that she could feel love for another through them."

'What about Hayden, the man from South Africa? Didn't she love him?"

'Hayden, and Sybil, and Rebecca, and Tayne, two human men and… _him._ "

'Melchiah?" Ereavia innocently asked.

'Yes… though I'd like to think it was lust on his part. He used her feelings against her, especially after what he did to Mother…" he suddenly stopped. Ereavia understood right away. That was a memory that neither of them lingered on for very long. A solemn mood fell upon them.

'No matter what, keep your memories of Mother. Don't remember her the way you last saw her at her funeral pyre. Think of her smile, her laugh, and above all, remember her love for us all."

'I do, big brother. I do." She answered. Ereavia paused then added, 'What do you remember about Mother?"

'That she was the sweetest, most loving and gentle creature in all existence." He began. 'No matter what I asked her, she always had an answer for me. And the food she made… I've yet to meet anyone who could outdo her stews."

'Oh sweet Jesus, her stews! My favorite was her spicy chicken stew with potatoes, carrots, and gravy-"

'Stop before you make me hungry," he chided with a smile. 'It's true what humans say about a mother's cooking."

'Nothing beats it," Ereavia finished with a beam. It slowly began to fade, however, at the thought of their dear mother. Ereavia had only been a child when she died, still remembering the last embrace, her last kiss, her last goodbye.

Tears fell down her cheeks.

'I miss her," she started to cry. 'I miss her so much." Riordan put down his cup and did the same to hers before drawing her into an embrace.

'I know little sister," he started. 'I miss her too." Riordan rubbed soothing circles on Ereavia's shoulders, the girl trapped in a woman's body crying for what felt like ages.

'I wish we could go back," Ereavia wept. 'I wish we could go back to the way things were. I wish Amarant was still in England, that everyone was alive. I just don't want to be in this world anymore." Riordan said nothing; just let her get everything off her chest. 'I want it to be me, you, Julianna and Mother together again so I don't feel so lost all the time. I'm living a double life, too afraid of what will happen if I dare live out in the open. I've lived for so long as Jenna Kelly that I don't even know who I am anymore."

'I know who you are," Riordan replied in their native tongue.

'You do, but not Julianna. I've had to lie to her; I've helped do horrible things to her... Riordan if she knew, if Mother saw me, both of them would hate me."

'No they wouldn't. You've done what you've had to do to survive. No one can fault you for doing what you must."

'Riordan if you saw what I've seen, if you knew what Umbrella and whoever else is in on this is planning to do, what they are going to unleash on this world, you'd know why I am so afraid. Why I am so afraid for Julianna…" Riordan stopped Ereavia before she could go any farther.

'What do you mean "going to unleash"? What's going on?"

'It's Wesker, Riordan." Ereavia clarified. 'Albert Wesker, he's… he's creating something horrible and Julianna's going to help him if he gets into her head."

'Wesker?" Riordan asked in disbelief. 'You've seen him?" Ereavia nodded.

'I've been an inside source for Clive along with a few others. We've been trying to find a way to get Julianna away from him, but we're running out of time." Riordan grew very serious.

'Ereavia, I need you to tell me everything you've seen and everything you know about Wesker's plans." She hesitated. 'Ereavia I can't help you or Julianna if I don't know what I'm dealing with. You said you want it to be me, you, and Julianna again. Please tell me. I can't lose either one of you, not when I've only just found you." Ereavia's vivid violet eyes stared into her brother's eyes. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, she closed her eyes and then opened them again.

'Alright," she agreed. 'It all started six months ago when the London Cave In happened."

* * *

The farther she and Wesker proceeded down the hall, the darker and colder it seemed to get. The entire time they walked, occasionally she'd hear the angry growls and roars ( _A Hunter,_ she thought with disgust.) from whatever was down here. The sounds of human beings screaming and the strong metallic smell of blood was unnerving in a way she couldn't explain.

Lights flickered above them, intensifying her unease until they reached a large metal door that looked like it would be impossible for a normal man to open. Then again, neither she nor Wesker was normal creatures. He opened the door and ushered her into the near pitch black room save for a light which hung alone. The only occupant was a bound man with a bloodied white sack over his head sat directly under said light.

Her red eyes adapted quickly to the dark, too quickly for Julianna's liking. But she had not the time to think about it as Wesker closed and locked the door behind him, nearly blending in with the darkness was it not for his skin and blonde hair. She glanced at him to the man in the chair; her nose filled with the scent of fear in the air that she knew didn't come from either of them. It should have frightened her how she was able to smell such a thing, but it only caused a deep primal part of her to rouse itself, coming to life like a moth to a flame.

She felt a satisfaction knowing that the man was obviously afraid of them, a satisfaction she wanted nothing to do with. _Fear makes the blood run quicker and taste so much sweeter,_ a haunting voice told her. Julianna was taken aback by this. It sounded like two voices put together… but where had it come from? So confused by its appearance, Julianna never heard Wesker as he came to rest behind her, nor did she feel his hands settle on her hips.

'How long has it been since your last blood transfusion?" he asked in a husky voice, a shiver going down her spine at the sensation of his lips caressing her ear.

'I… it was before Jenna left… earlier this week." She replied shakily, it was already difficult for her to think and know what her words were and what were the words of that voice that kept egging on darker thoughts. The hands that were gripping her hips weren't helping to quell it either.

'But surely you crave the real way, do you not?" Wesker asked. 'Surely you'd rather savor the kill of a blood source more than having it fed to you through a tube." He had an undeniable point; she didn't like having a blood transfusion. It would be so much easier to sink her teeth into a helpless victim's neck, draining away their life source…

 _But you can't!_ Another voice said. _If you do, you'll become one of_ them _._

 _Stupid little girl, you're already one of them. You were one of the night long ere your cries echoed in the night. Accept your nature, and stop complaining._

So caught up in this mental war, Julianna never noticed that Wesker had left her behind in favor of walking to the man who- upon hearing their entrance- began pleading and begging for mercy, promising anything in the world if they set him free. His breath came quick, near the point of hyperventilating. Without warning, Wesker struck the man in the stomach so hard blood shot out. Julianna winced at the sight- knowing Wesker, he put every ounce of force behind that.

'Enough of your sniveling," he growled. 'I gave you enough warnings as to what would happen if you failed me again." The man quieted himself, but his breathing remained labored as he struggled to get control of it once more. His fear intensified to the point that all of Julianna's teeth- especially her canines- began aching, an insatiable hunger filling her.

The only thing that was stopping her from lunging at the helpless human was Wesker, who was suddenly holding a rather interesting blade in his hand, one she'd never seen him take out in the first place. Her red eyes immediately locked onto it, watching as Wesker toyed with it, running his gloved fingers up and down the length of it. His eyes were on hers the entire time as Julianna came closer, interested in what it was he was planning to do with this.

Once she was close enough, Julianna took a closer look at the knife. It was your standard run of the mill blade; it started out smooth, then became jagged towards the last inch of the blade before ending at the black hilt. Her right hand rose to touch it, her small slender fingers joining Wesker's as they ran along it. She'd thought he'd jerk away from her close proximity, but rather he said and did nothing. In fact, he looked… pleased that she too was playing with the sharpness, gladly running the risk of getting cut as his hand brushed against hers every once in a while.

All of that changed, however, when she nicked her index finger on the tip of the blade.

In truths, she didn't feel it- her skin had quickly knit itself back together in the split second it took to injure it in the first place. The blood that had welled remained on it, as well as on the tip of the knife. Julianna drew back her hand to examine the blood, her eyes solely focused on the carmine liquid. Her vision swam for a brief moment before it cleared, albeit tinged at the edges with crimson. Slowly, very slowly, she brought her once cut finger to her mouth and licked it clean, the voices in her head purring in satisfaction.

Wesker watched as she ran her hand on his knife again, purposefully cutting herself a second time and drawing her sliced fingers into her mouth, her eyes closing in what appeared to be pleasure. He couldn't contain the sick smile that wormed its way out when her eyes opened again. Gone were the docile wine reds that he'd grown accustomed to- now they'd become a hellish red, the pupil's bestial slivers. Strange… though the fluorescent bulbs above them were no wheres near the spectrum needed to do so, it appeared that her eyes were glowing, reminding him of the way the Las Plagas virus caused the host's eyes to do the same.

That primal look in her eyes caused all thoughts to leave his mind, her head cocked slightly to the left as she stared at him. That look in her eyes… any human would have been sent running. But he was no human. He was a different species altogether, stronger and powerful even more so that someone of her lineage. No, he didn't find that gleam in her eyes to be frightening. In fact, he'd never admit it, that stare held both the promise to kill if provoked and the promise that he'd get more than a good time if he only chose to accept it.

It was a damn good thing Wesker was in such a good mood right now.

His head moved to the left, to the helpless mortal trapped in the chair. Julianna's eyes slowly did the same, observing the handiwork of whoever had violently brought the man here in the first place.

'Do you require blood, Julianna?" Wesker asked, looking back at her.

'Yes," she replied. Hell, even her voice sounded different- huskier with more of a deeper timbre than her usual airy voice. He made a mental note to bring this side of her out more often.

'Then this man will satisfy that craving for you," Wesker informed her, taking one of Julianna's hands into his own and placing the knife within it. 'Punish him for interrupting us." Julianna took hold of the blade, turning it this way and that before looking back at Wesker, a sinister smile coming to her face.

'Gladly."

* * *

'So the rumors are true," Riordan said to himself as Ereavia finished explaining. 'Wesker truly does have Eclipse."

'Not yet, but as long as he has Julianna, he may as well have it." She clarified. 'The fakes we planted years ago didn't work as long as we'd hoped. In truths, I'm surprised they worked at all."

'Well we _did_ put them together fast," Riordan pointed out. 'At least we didn't mess up to the point of blowing us all to hell."

'But that's beside the point. We need to do something and fast. The more time we wait-" A cheery ringtone interrupted the siblings, causing both to jump in surprise. Ereavia pulled out her phone from her back pocket, looking at the caller id. 'Sorry big brother, I have to take this." Riordan waved her along, settling back onto the floor in front of the fire. Ereavia nodded, trying to hide the unease she suddenly felt. Why she didn't know, but she had a sneaky suspicion that something was amiss if she was being called on her personal phone rather than her work phone. She flipped open the phone.

'Hey Reagan, how are you-"

'Ereavia- Jenna, we have a problem," a hysterical Reagan said, obviously shaking in fear on the other line. Ereavia's face grew serious at the sound of her friend's panic.

'Are you alright? What's going on?" she asked, Riordan looking at up her at the change in his sister's demeanor.

'I'm fine," Reagan confirmed. 'It's Trent! He's… He called Wesker to report our findings on the recent synthesizing of T with Julianna's blood, and the next thing we knew, two UBCS soldiers came in and took him away!"

'What?!" Ereavia shrieked, a hand coming to cover her mouth.

'I don't know where they took him, but I saw Wesker heading towards the holding cells."

'What about Julianna? Is she alright? Is she safe?" Riordan too grew concerned at the mention of Julianna's name, jumping to his feet. Reagan grew silent. 'Reagan, please tell me! Where is she? Where is my sister?"

'Wesker took her with him."

* * *

 **A/N-** Whatever is going to happen to the poor human in the holding cells, I wonder? ;) Be warned, the next chapter is going to be bloody as hell and going to contain a little something that everyone's been waiting on. It's already written on paper, just got to get it typed up and ran through Grammarly before it can be posted.

Thank you once again for the reviews and the follows! Please keep it up! It doesn't go unnoticed. =)


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